


Read My Mind | Joshler

by tylrjsph



Series: x-men [1]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: 5SOS - Freeform, Brendon Urie - Freeform, Calum Hood - Freeform, Death, Dom!Josh, Drama, Fighting, Fire, Gay, Halsey - Freeform, LGBT, Luke Hemmings - Freeform, M/M, Millie bobby brown - Freeform, Minor Character Death, Panic! at the Disco - Freeform, Paramore - Freeform, Sub Tyler, X-men - Freeform, highschool, injuries, josh dun - Freeform, pete wentz - Freeform, reading minds, super powers, superpower, twenty one pilots - Freeform, tyler joseph - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-07-11 05:51:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 78,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15966020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tylrjsph/pseuds/tylrjsph
Summary: A story in which Tyler can read everyone's mind and Josh can project fire from his hands.Please Note:This entire book was inspired by the X-Men movies. I give all credit to them with characters ideas and some of plot line and such. However, there's definitely things I've changed from the OG stories to fit with my book. Please remember that when reading.All credits go to the owners of the pictures that I use in every chapter. If you took the picture and would like credit please message me.[yes, this is laughingcalum from wattpad]





	1. prologue

X-men. You've probably heard about all them. You know, the ones with the superpowers and high tech gadgets and all of that super advanced stuff.

Tyler Joseph had absolutely no clue that they existed. That was until he got admitted into Professor Charles Xavier's Academy for the X-Men, of course.

Tyler was sixteen year old kid debating his abilities. 

Josh was a seventeen year old kid figuring out his powers.


	2. the academy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen 2 decode by paramore when reading

Life certainly wasn't working in Tyler's favor. Everything just crashed down on him in a matter of seconds. He tried to hide it. He really did. But they took over–his powers, that is. 

 

Tyler couldn't possibly control them anymore, for he had done it too long. Physically, he couldn't handle it. He had been working far to hard to conceal something most would consider amazing.

 

Unfortunately, his 'gift' was revealed during the middle of his history class. His professor was in the middle of lecturing, and Tyler had accidentally made him stop talking. In his mind, he was complaining about how boring his lecture was, and his powers decided to take matters into their own hands. After a few seconds, he had gained control, and the teacher began talking again. It was an odd moment, but no one had said anything.

 

And then a book had ripped in half. It was his own study book, but that didn't matter, because everyone noticed. 

 

Once Tyler has realized what he had done, his eyes shut in fear. They couldn't see his eyes. They glow red whenever he uses his powers. Of course his teacher was quick to react, turning his head to search for the book that had been ripped. Upon spotting Tyler, the teacher had then asked him to open his eyes, and the red orbs had unwillingly let the truth out. 

 

He let out a sob as he sprinted out of the room, his anxiety increasing at all of the thoughts in his head. How would he tell his mother? What about his family? What would they think? It was crazy how things could just fall apart in seconds. 

 

But things just kept falling apart afterwards. His mother tried to help him, but his powers set off one night at dinner, and that was the last strike.

 

Now, here he was, trying to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do with the new conflict in his life. It was nearly impossible to argue with his Mother. Tyler had no patience with her when she was angry, and fighting ultimately didn't really do anything except leave the both of them mad at each other.

 

This argument wasn't about a typical argument a teenage boy had with his mother; a stupid video game, not doing his homework, or talking back. An argument like this was much greater.

 

This decision, that he wasn't even able to make, affected his whole life. And much to to Tyler's dismay, Mrs. Joseph was not having it. Yes, maybe it did seemed harsh to force a sixteen year old into a high school filled with a bunch of kids he didn't know in his junior year, it but really was for the best. 

 

Tyler just couldn't live a normal life. His powers were all over the place and he needed to learn how to control them. This would help him, hopefully.

 

But Tyler was not giving up. Not without a fight, at least.

 

"Mom, p-please consider what you're doing. You're being i-irrational." Tyler's frail voice stated, his eyes rolling. Typical for a teenager.

 

"Tyler, you aren't like everyone else. You can't go to a regular school. That's not–" The blonde started speaking, but Tyler was quick to interject.

 

"This is d-d-delusional!"

 

"I should've known from the second that plate fell of the dinner table and your eyes were red that you weren't normal." His mother muttered, lifting her hand to touch her head as she was talking, a sign of frustration. 

 

He wasn't normal? Tyler anxiously looked up at her. He could be normal. This was just a little part of him. He could be normal just like everyone else in the family. His powers were only part of him. 

 

The teen didn't feel like talking to her anymore at her words. The brunette was already hearing everything she was thinking. All of her thoughts felt like knives to his skin.

 

"Mama," Tyler tried to sympathize. "it's n-not my fault. Please don't s-send me away." The brunette pleaded, his voice becoming quiet. Feeling tears well up in his eyes, he sadly stared into his lap. 

 

Letting out a sigh, Mrs. Joseph changed her tone slightly. "Tyler it's for the best." She assured him. "You have to go. You'll meet all sorts of kids. Just like you." Sensing Tyler's anxiousness, she spoke calmer this time.

 

Just like him? What was he? If he wasn't normal, was he going to meet other abnormal kids? Were they freaks like him? His mother thought he was freak.

 

"I-I-I've been trying to hide my powers for 16 years t-to avoid this, Mom!" Brown eyes lingered to his lap again as he admitted the statement.

 

"You watch your tone." She retorted strictly, and Tyler rolled his eyes. Mrs. Joseph looked over at him, making eye contact. "I suggest you begin packing. Your flight leaves at 4."

 

His eyes watered at the statement. His mother really was sending him away. He was too big of a problem for her to handle. Did his Mother ever really want him? Did his father? Or his siblings? Tyler wiped his eyes frustratedly.

 

Tyler mumbled profanities as he stormed up the steps. Not only did his mother think this was for the best, but she wanted to get rid of Tyler because of his powers. Tyler heard her think it, and the thoughts made his chest tighten and his heart ache. 

 

Tears threatened to spill out of his eyes, and before he knew it objects were flying all over his room. Things were being thrown, books were being ripped, and drawers were being consistently opened, yet Tyler was laying on his bed. His breathing was abnormal and his heart was continuing to race.

 

When he came back to his senses, everything in the air had fallen, and all the drawers slammed shut. Everything was silent. He let out a soft cry, rubbing his eyes. 

 

Sure, being able to move things with his mind was a neat trick, but only when he was able to control it. Unfortunately, Tyler couldn't. Maybe they'd teach him how. That would be lovely. Wishing he could think more optimistically, he wiped his teary eyes once more.

 

Maybe he would actually like it. 

 

Maybe he wouldn't.

 

Tyler angrily sighed and began picking up the items that he threw when he was freaking out. He threw out the books he ruined and folded the clothes that had been thrown.

 

Once he finished packing his clothes, his mother called him downstairs to have their last family meal, for a long time. When he finished eating he thanked his mother for the meal and said goodbye to his siblings, as he was leaving when they were asleep and he had yet to finish packing his belongings. He really was going to miss them. Especially Jay. 

 

A few dreadful hours later, Tyler was leaving for his flight, and his mother bid him a farewell. "Tyler, I love you. Call me as soon as you arrive. I'll miss you so much! Be safe an-"

 

"I'm g-going to miss my flight M-mama, I gotta go. I love you too." He hugged her one last time before beginning the walk to the boarding plane.

—

When he landed, nervousness filled in the pit of his stomach. A 15 hour flight to Ohio can really mess up one's brain. He knew jet-lag would be a pain in the ass. After a painfully awkward taxi cab drive, Tyler arrived at Professor Charles Xavier's Academy for the X-Men. 

 

Brown eyes were wide as he stared at the buildings. He only thought one thing:

 

Wow.

 

Remembering what his Mother said about calling him, he shrugged it off, not really caring. Simply because she was the reason he was at the academy in the first place.

 

When he entered the extremely large building, someone immediately greeted him. The action was kind of startling, but he didn't show it.

 

"Hello! Name?" A man wearing a red blazer and old fashioned cap greeted him. He hated his job, judging from his unenthusiastic thoughts, despite his cheerfully mask.

 

"T-Tyler Joseph."

 

There was a brief pause. "Your room is 182 B. Go on the elevator, second floor, to the right. An attendant will be there to assist you. Be sure to join the Assembly at 2:30! Also, here." The man gave him two cards.

 

"Thanks." Tyler replied softly.

 

Walking towards the elevator, he pressed the button that would direct him into the second level. When it opened, he was shocked by everything that he saw. Mouth slightly parted, Tyler studied his surroundings.

The walls were a burgundy color, lamps decorating the sides of them, along with black colored doors paired with golden door knobs. Next to every door was a small golden colored table, on top of it an arrangement of flowers. On the black doors (that led to the dorms of the rooms, Tyler assumed) were small gold signs, each having a different number on it. The floor was dark red velvet, and appeared to be very soft. 

 

Soon, Tyler snapped back into reality. He knew someone was near him because he could hear what they were thinking. Trying to recall what the man had said earlier, he remembered the cards he was given. 

 

One said ROOM CARD and Tyler assumed that it was the key to his room. When he looked at the second one, he saw a picture of his face, his full name, his dorm number, power, eye color, and hair color. It said: 

 

Name : Tyler Robert Joseph

Dorm : 182 B

Eye Color : Brown

Hair Color : Brown 

Ability : Mind read, control, etc.

Photo : 

 

 

He cringed at the photo. How did they even get this? Did his Mother give them this photo? Why, out of all the photos she could have chosen, she chose that one? Someone then cleared their throat, interrupting Tyler's cringe attack.

 

"Greetings! What room are you?"

 

"182 B." Tyler politely smiled, trying to avoid any more conversation.

 

"Ah, okay. Make a right, this way." The women pointed into a direction. "Then just follow the numbers. Remember the assembly at 2:30, Mr. Joseph." 

 

His words seemed normal until Tyler realized that there was no way he could've known his name. He stuttered his reply out, confused. "H-how did you—never mind. T-thanks."

 

The rooms all looked the same from the outside, besides the numbers on the gold in the center of the door. Once he found the room with the numbers 182 B, he sighed in relief, quickly sliding his card in slot to unlock his room. When he opened it, he dropped all of his bags, and went into the first room he saw. 

 

When he opened the door he immediately yelped, as he saw another boy, who was shirtless. The boy with red hair jumped up, only because of Tyler.

 

"Oh my gosh!" Tyler nearly fell, but the boy caught him.

 

"Jesus, are you okay?"

 

"I-I–uh, yeah! I just–just d-didn't know I'd be sharing my room with someone."

 

"Oh, okay." He chuckled, pulling Tyler back up onto his feet. 

 

"Are-are you new here too, or-"

 

"No, I've been here since freshman."

 

"What g-grade are you now?" Tyler spoke wearily. 

 

Sometimes it was annoying for him to talk to someone because he could already hear the answers in their heads. This was happening with this boy. He sighed.

 

"Senior, what about you?" 

 

"I'm a junior."

 

The red haired boy steps closer to the boy, slightly making his breathing grow unsteady. "Why are you so nervous?"

 

Why did he have to be shirtless? 

 

Tyler heard him thinking about how he was attractive, and it made his face blushy. He tried to casually conceal his reddening cheeks.

 

"Sorry." He spoke sheepishly. "I don't mean to be, I'm ju-just nervous in front of n-new people." Again, Tyler was blushing. This time it was because his lisp was very noticeable when he tried to pronounce the word 'just.'

 

"That's not good." Josh frowned. "You're going to meet a lot of new people today, honey, since it is your first day and all." Tyler's face heated up at the pet name, barely processing the other words in his sentence.

 

"Oh," Tyler whispered, weakly, trying not to show what felt, although he wasn't doing a good job.

 

"What's your name?" Tyler looked back up at the boy this time. His eyes met with red ones. 

 

"Tyler." He replied.

 

"That suites your face. I'm Josh." The younger boy let out a chuckle at his words. 

 

"Joshua?"

 

"Well, yeah. But call me Josh." Tyler nodded, not exactly knowing what to say next. Luckily, Josh had it covered. "Do you want me to help you unpack?" He offered.

 

"Yeah, a-act-actually, if you don't mind." Josh opened the door, allowing the younger boy to walk into the other room where he dropped his bags. Josh grabbed all four with ease, and placed them into the other bedroom that was provided. Tyler looked at him for a minute, soon following him into his new bedroom after. 

 

When they unpacked, they didn't talk about much, mostly about school related stuff. Tyler occasionally blushed when Josh said something to him. 

Soon, it was almost 2:30, so Josh and Tyler began walking to the Assembly room. Which technically consisted of Tyler following Josh because he was practically a lost puppy in this place.  

 

"H-hey Josh?"

 

"Mhm?"

 

"I'm a little s-s-scared to meet people." He muttered. Feeling his face turn red, he stared at the ground. He was embarrassed.

 

"A lot of people are friendly." The red haired boy assured him. "Don't worry, honey. If you want, I'll introduce you to my friends, so you get familiar with other people. You'll like them. They're all pretty chill. Well, besides me, of course." He chuckled.

 

At that, Tyler looked back up, a slight grin on his face, revealing a few of his crooked teeth. "H-how-how are you not-"

 

"My power? It's heat. I can shoot fire outta' my hands and stuff."

 

Brown eyes widened. "That's s-so cool! I wish I could do that." He implored.

 

"What can you do?"

 

"Read minds."

 

It was now Josh's turn to get blushy. "Oh. Is that so?"

 

Tyler nodded. "Yes,"

 

"Anything else I should know about you, mind reader?" He joked, making Tyler smile.

 

"Well, I-I can control minds, I have telepathy, and I can s-see people's mem-memories when I touch them."

 

"Really? Give me your hand."

 

"N-no, it's not necessar-" Memories of Josh's life began shooting through his head. All sorts of names were heard and places were seen and it overwhelmed Tyler greatly. Whenever this happened, Tyler's eyes rolled back. When Josh pulled away it all stopped, and Josh's face was concerned.

 

"Does that happen every time you touch someone?"

 

"Who's dallon?" Tyler avoided the question, his brain filled with knowledge about Joshua's life.

 

"What?" Josh's eyes widened.

 

"I heard his name but never s-saw him—oh," Tyler stopped talking. "I'm-I'm s-sorry." Tyler could see and hear things about Dallon, and when he saw the memory of the funreal, he stopped talking about it.

 

"It's fine." Josh said distantly. "Does it?" 

 

"No. Only the first time."

 

"That's really cool. I wish I could see that."

 

"You could if I put it into your mind."

 

"What? How would you do that?" They got into the elevator and Josh pressed five. Once the door closed Tyler replied.

 

"I think of the memory I just had of it, and then I can just s-send it to your head when I t-touch your cheek."

 

"Do it." The elevator doors opened, and when the boys walked out Tyler placed his hand on the older boys cheek. 

 

Josh stopped as he immediately gasped at all the memories that flew through his mind in just seconds.  "Woah." He whispered, amazed. "I'm telling all my friends to shake your hand so you can see their memories and show me." 

 

Tyler chuckled and shrugged. "Alright." Although he seemed calm, he was actually quite happy that someone was so thrilled with his powers, as it had never happened before.

 

"You should make Professor Charles swear or do something funny."

 

"No. That'd be s-s-stupid. H-he can read minds too, you know."

 

"Oh, yeah. Never mind then."  Josh suddenly felt stupid.

 

Tyler realized the time as Josh was mentally cringing. "Josh, we-we're almost late! We have t-to hurry!"  

 

Josh just laughed at Tyler's worried expression and began walking a little faster to the doors of the assembly room. When Josh opened the assembly room doors, Tyler couldn't help but stare.The walls were a light blue color and the flooring looked wooden. Many kids were in the room and Tyler felt slightly overwhelmed. 

 

"C'mon, I want you to meet my friends!"

 

When Tyler walked up to the crowd of Josh's friends, he was nervous. All of their thoughts were about Tyler, which definitely didn't help. Before he could greet any of his friends, Josh yanked Tyler down next to him, whispering to him that the assembly was going to start. 

"So, I'm assuming you all know me. If you don't, I'm Professor Charles Xavier, the creator of the X-Men. If you're unaware of what my powers are, they are mind control and mind reading. There are only two other students to ever been in this academy and have the powers I have. However, we now have our third student to join the academy with this ability. A boy by the name of Tyler Joseph has just joined this school this year, and has the powers that I do. Tyler wherever you are, I cannot wait to meet you. I've placed you in a dorm with Joshua Dun, so you're in good hands, and I know he'll make you feel welcomed.  Anyway, I would like let you all know how grateful we are to have you attend our academy, and I am thrilled to start another year. You should all know what we have to endure by those mutants, so I do hope you will be careful when alone. Please always be aware of your surroundings because they may be watching. Always plan behind closed doors. Train as hard as you can, and always be safe." 

 

Seconds later people began giving all of the students drinks, probably sparkling cider or something good like that. Charles raised his glass, and so did everyone else, Tyler on a few seconds later doing the same because this was all new to him.

 

"Welcome to the X-men, and here's to a great year!"

"Wait aren't there girls?" Josh laughed loudly and quickly downed his drink, Tyler doing the same.

 

"Yeah, it's just called that."


	3. meeting new people

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be aware that not all of these are X-men powers. This chapter takes place on the same day as the prior chapter. Scarlett is played by Scarlett Leithold.

Josh turned his brightly colored red head to look at Tyler. "We have a free day today."  It was hard to hear him, but Tyler managed to hear him through the noise of people talking and getting up to walk out of the assembly room.

 

Raised eyebrows and a slightly opened mouth allowed Josh to know what Tyler was thinking. Before Josh could say anything else, Tyler spoke. "Because we need to get s-settled in and try to meet new people."

 

Josh frowned. "Hey, get outta my head."

 

"Get out, get out, get out my head and fall into my arms instead!" Tyler began singing the lyrics of one of his younger sister's favorite songs, making Josh laugh.

 

"Alright Harry Styles, how bout' we go meet my friends?"

 

"S-sure." Tyler turned to look, but realized Josh's friends were gone. "Wait, where'd they go?" Tyler questioned.

 

"I don't know. Probably to get food."

 

"Oh. Okay." Tyler nodded.

 

Both Tyler and Josh got up from their prior criss-cross applesauce positions and filled out of the assembly room. 

 

"Speaking of which, Have you eaten anything since you've been here?"

 

Tyler's eyes widened, realization hitting him like a punch to the face. "No."

 

"We should just go to the cafeteria then." Tyler nodded, and stared at his feet for a second. Josh turned to look at the boy. "That's where they'll probably be. Plus they have taco bell." Josh added quickly.

 

Tyler accidentally gasped. "R-really? I love taco bell!"' The brown haired boy exclaimed. 

 

Josh chuckled at the younger boys reaction. "Me too. So does my friends."

 

"I love your friends."

 

Josh sighed, pretending to be sad. "I don't."

 

"I don't love my uh," Pausing, Tyler tried to think of something that he didn't love. "Ability to mind read, s-sometimes you hear things you don't wanna."

 

"Well whenever I get mad, my hands get really hot because of my power."

 

"Noted." Tyler nodded, "W-why can't I hear you?" Tyler now only realized that he couldn't hear what Josh was thinking. 

 

"I'm putting a force field on me."

 

"What? Why?"

 

"Look, it's the cafeteria! You'll love my friends!" Josh said a little too quickly, making it a little too obvious that he was trying to change the subject. However, Tyler was a little too oblivious to realize, instead walking into the cafeteria in awe.

 

The reason Josh changed the subject was because he couldn't just go out say that he didn't want Tyler to know if he was thinking about him, because that would be weird, right?

 

Right?

 

Approaching the cafeteria, Josh held the door for Tyler and Tyler stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the cafeteria.

 

It was huge. It was light green colored room, with at least 150 tables which were black and circle shaped. The chairs were a bright blue color, adding a very nice contrast. The floors were a white wooden style and the ceilings were painted green as well. Not only did they have taco bell but they had so much more. They had a salad station, a subway, a pizza place and way more. Tyler's mouth was watering by the time he got close to the taco bell.

 

Just as they reached to the taco bell, Tyler realized he didn't bring money with him.

 

"Josh, I have to go back to the dorm, I forgot my wallet." Tyler frowned.

 

"You get three meals a day on the school, you're good."

 

Tyler's eyes widened in surprise. "Free taco bell? S-sign me the frick up!"

 

Once they both ordered their chalupas and baja blasts,  Josh searched for where his friends where. Soon, he spotted the blue skinned girl that was in their friend group and he immediately started walking towards them, Tyler following him like a lost puppy. They sat down, Tyler blushing slightly from being in front of new people.

 

"Is-is this okay? I don't want to intrude or anyt-"

 

"It's fine, don't worry. What's your name?" A girl with blonde hair and blue eyes questioned, smiling at him.

 

"Tyler. What's yours?" The boy heard their thoughts on his name, and blushed harder.

 

"I'm Scarlett." 

 

"Say all your names and what you're here for, babes." Tyler's eyes widened at the nickname, causing a girl with purple and black hair to laugh. He noticed the huge gap in her teeth.

 

"Well, I'm Melanie. I don't breathe and I cannot die. I'm literally a voodoo doll, which is pretty cool. I don't feel pain and have immortality. Wanna see something cool?"

 

"Sure?" It was more like a question. She grabbed the knife that was near her and pressed it to her throat, sliding it against it quickly, making Tyler shriek. "Ohmygosh!" 

 

"Watch," Another girl with black hair spoke.

 

He jumped, but only a few seconds later he saw the entire wound heal. "D-Did that hurt?"

 

"No, not at all. I can't feel pain."

 

"That's s-so cool! But what's a voodoo?"

 

"Well, I can think of someone and then if I were to like burn myself or something, it would hurt and leave a mark on them."

 

Eyes widened, Tyler stared at the girl. "That's amazing!"

 

Melanie chuckled. "Yeah, it's pretty cool."

 

"Wait, if you ha-have immortality t-then how can you age?"

 

"I stop when I'm 18. I'm 17 now." Melanie explained.

 

"I'm Ashley." Another girl spoke, making Tyler turn his head and grin.  She had freckles, black hair, and a really nice smile. "So when I sing, I can distract people with it. I can make it sound really nice and calming so people will be put in a trance, or I can sing so loud and high pitched that they'll go deaf. I don't do that often though."

 

"Sing!" Tyler begged.

 

She looked hesitant. "I don't know if I–"

"Please!" The brown eyed boy pleaded.

Ashley let out a sigh. "I keep a close watch on this heart of mine, I keep my eyes wide open all the time, I keep a close watch on this heart of mine, I keep the ends out for the tie that binds, because you're mine, I walk the line." 

 

Everyone at the table was tranced by her beautiful voice. A few people nearby were as well. She tried not to sing too loud because she knew the louder that she sung the more people it affected. Once she stopped, the trance did as well.

"Woah." Tyler was speechless as Ashley blushed.

"T-Thanks."

"No problem." He grinned. "You're amazing."

"Brendon why don't you show us what you can do." Melanie interrupted quickly, a little annoyed with the friendly exchange.

 

Tyler looked around the table for this Brendon kid, but Josh helped him out, whispering into his ear, 'the one with the five head and big glasses'. Tyler found him in a few seconds, and saw that the Brendon kid was staring at him already. 

 

"I can make your mind play tricks on you."

 

Tyler's eyes widened in surprise. "Do it!" 

 

Brendon locked eyes with Tyler and soon Tyler couldn't see Brendon or Josh or Ashley or Melanie or any of the other kids. It was a rainforest. It was so colorful, too. It had parrots and it was green and raining. Completely forgetting it wasn't real, Tyler stood up, trying to move. Luckily, Josh pulled him back down. Brendon stopped his trick.

 

"O-oh gosh. I forgot it was f-fake for a second. It looks so real!" Tyler blushed out of embarrassment.

 

"Have you ever met any other kids like yourself?" A blue skinned girl spoke to Tyler, her eyebrows furrowed.

 

"No. What can you do?" Turning his body around, Tyler took a second look at the girl. She was very pretty even with the blue skin. Her hair was orangey and she had yellow eyes. The intricate patterns on her bare blue skin made it hard not to look at her.

 

"First off, I'm Jenna." She stood up, reaching to shake Tyler's hand. Jenna didn't have on clothes, but it wasn't like she was nude. However, the skin definitely outlined her whole body quite precisely. The sixteen year old couldn't help but stare her body, almost in awe at how nicely shaped she was, which led it him completely forgetting about the memories when he touched or the first time. He shook her hand, immediately getting flashbacks of what's she's been through. 

 

A/N: Keep mind that this is just exactly what he sees. It's strange but just what he sees because the power only shows significant parts of their lives.

 

Tyler had learned in those few seconds that Jenna wasn't born with blue skin, someone gave her a needle and it had a negative effect on her.  Lots of crying, because of the skin maybe? More needles, trying to cure her. Kissed Brendon, freaked out, blood all over.

The curly brown haired boy was shocked to say the least. When she wasn't blue, she was absolutely gorgeous.  Tyler still thought she was pretty, however.  He had wondered if Brendon and Jenna were together.

When the memory was over, Tyler nearly fell out of his seat, gasping when his eyes opened.

"Woah, is he okay?" Jenna went to grab him, but the girl next to him caught him, making him get another memory flashback.  His eyes rolled back, making another boy of the group gasp.

 

She and Josh were together, She's dyed her hair a lot, and got her septum pierced. A house in flames. A death, possibly from a close family member. Hospital rooms. Another death. Lots of flowers. Josh and her kissing. 

 

"He's okay guys. He just gets flashbacks of your life when you first touch him."

 

Tyler's eyes shot open. He decided not mention the flashbacks. "Okay, I'm g-good. What's your powers?"

 

Instead of telling the slightly older boy what she could do, she decided to show him. Seconds later, her blue skin began to turn out, a new light skin tone appearing under it. More facials features change and clothes appeared onto her body and her hair was changing. She was changing into someone! It was Tyler! She was changing into Tyler! 

 

Tyler watched in shock, and in awe. "That's really, something else. I-I can't even fathom that." Jenna grinned, turning back to her natural form.

 

"Hola. I'm Pete. I can-" Pete suddenly stopped talking, and everything was frozen besides Tyler and Pete. The curly brunettes' eyes were furrowed at the sudden change. No sounds were heard and no movement was made. Everyone suddenly began moving and talking as if nothing happened, "freeze time."

 

"That's brilliant!" Pete smiled at the praise. 

 

"Oh, let me go next!"

 

Tyler turned to the girl who helped him not fall, his bright eyes showing inquiry. "What's your name? Your hair this color looks really nice by the way."

 

The girl furrowed her eyebrows, "What? How did you ever see my hair before tod-oh. The memories." Tyler nodded, smiling awkwardly. "Thank you. It's Debby by the way." She added. "Give me your hand." Tyler placed his hand into hers, and in seconds they were at a place Tyler's never seen before. He was speechless. There was so many flowers.

 

"Is this real?" Tyler walked around, amazed at the sight.

 

"Yeah. I can teleport."

 

"Can you go back in time?"

 

"Mhm." Debby nodded her orangey-red head. 

 

"That's s-so cool!" Tyler squealed, making Debby smile. "We should make flower crowns." Tyler stated seriously.

 

"Yes! Oh my gosh, get every flower you can!"

 

A few minutes later, Tyler and Debby came back to the academy, with flowers in their hair. 

 

"Oh, that's cute." Scarlett commented.

 

"Patrick," Josh pointed to a nice looking boy in a fedora, who waved. "Can make storms from his hands. He'll show you sometime. And Calum," He pointed to a boy with a very sculpted face and dark brown eyes.

 

"Can speak for himself, thank you very much." Calum rolled his eyes. "I can shoot red energy bursts out of my chest. I would show you but it could kill a lot of people so I can't do it at the moment."

 

"You gotta s-show me s-sometime!" Tyler turned to Patrick. "You too."

 

"I should probably go." A boy with blonde hair and blue eyes looked up. "I'm luke or lucifer or like because that's my name according to autocorrect." Tyler laughed. "But basically I can shock people or things with my hands. If you wanna be fancy and stuff I can project electric charges with my fingers but yeah, I'll show you on this cup." 

 

Luke stared at the cup briefly, before raising his right hand and moving his finger before gray white and blue shocks began appearing from it. The cup had an instant whole in it so he stopped rather quickly, not wanting to hurt anyone or mark the table.

 

"That's lit. Literally." Luke laughed at his statement. "J-Josh do your power."

   Josh wasn't even paying attention to anything right now, because the boy in the flower crown was distracting him greatly.

"He's not listening." Brendon commented.

"I already said my name but I never showed you my ability. I'm Scarlett, if you forgot."

 

"Don't worry," He began. "I can't forget anything." Tyler lightly smiled. 

 

"I'll show what I can do, but don't look to long because it can blind you."  

 

Tyler gave her a confused look but suddenly her skin began turning silver beautiful shiny crystals, she was so shiny. Tyler watched in amazement. Abruptly, she changed back into her normal skin, leaving Tyler speechless.

 

"Oh my goodness."

 

"Gerard! Show him what you do!"

 

"O-okay." Tyler's head turned to the person who spoke. He had blue hair and a crooked smile. He was really pretty. He lifted up the strange looking glasses he was wearing and looked up as red shot from his eyes, making Tyler gasp. But before Tyler could do anything he put his glasses back on.

 

"It can do a lot of damage, so I can't have my glasses off long at all." Tyler nodded, still kind of in shock.

 

He had no idea there was so many people could do so many different things. It was truly astonishing. He felt excited, even grateful that he went to this school now. He didn't feel like an outcast here, in fact, he felt like he belonged. It was amazing what these kids could do, and he felt even better about his powers because he wasn't the only one in his school who could do crazy things anymore.

 

"So, Tyler what can you do?" Jenna propped her elbows on the table, leaning forward and making her yellow eyes lock with Tyler's brown ones. She had asked the question that Tyler had heard everyone at the table think more than once.

 

"Mind reading." Everyone grew silent and gasped, wide-eyed and mouth open. Tyler started laughing quite loudly, interrupting the silence.

 

"Well this awkward." Melanie commented. "So you heard that I thought you were hot?"

 

"Yeah, but it's okay. J-Josh thought it too." Tyler replied quickly without thinking, and this statement made Josh turn almost as red as his hair and everyone else laugh really loud.

 

"That's great!" Pete said, laughing mid-word. 

 

"You just roasted Josh! Welcome to the group, kid!" Praised Brendon. Both Tyler and Josh were a blushy mess, but the younger boy felt really bad. Embarrassing Josh wasn't his intention at all.

 

Tyler looked over at Josh , "I-I'm so sorry I d-didn't mean to say that, I w-wasn't thinking!" Of course Tyler had to screw it up. 

"Ty, it's okay. I'm not mad. Don't worry." 

Tyler tried to not to blush when Josh called him Ty, but he felt very relieved that Josh wasn't mad. "I'm sorry." He spoke quietly. He really wished he could hear what Josh was thinking.  

 

"You're fine. Don't worry angel." Tyler's face was almost had red as Josh's hair.

 

"Josh calls everyone cute names. You'll get used to it." Scarlett assured the blushing boy. 

 

Melanie was thinking that they would be a cute couple. Ashley and Gerard thought the same thing as well.

Tyler blushed harder. 

"I don't regret what I'm thinking about." Ashley smiled at Tyler, lightly laughing. 

 

"What else can you do Tyler?" Brendon changed the subject, feeling a little sorry for the younger boy.

 

"Well, the memories thing. I also can't forget anything. And, I can make any living thing do whatever I want. Plus, I can talk to anyone in their mind–Oh gosh. I'm b-bragging. I'm sorry. I'll s-stop." Tyler squeaked.

 

"You're not, babe. Go on." Debby encouraged. Tyler blushed slightly are tried to tell himself that it was normal.

 

Tyler hesitated before replying. "I can look through anyone's mind and s-see their memories and that's it." 

 

"That's so weird! It's cool though!" Luke said, amazed. 

 

"I think you should give him a tour of the school, Josh". Patrick spoke up, making Josh nod.

 

"Okay, sure. Hurry up, doll."


	4. the boy in the black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen 2 fun by my bby troye sivan

"Why don't people condition their eyebrows?" Tyler, confused, looked up from his phone screen to shoot Brendon a strange glance. 

Tyler was currently at lunch, along with Josh, Melanie, Ashley, Brendon, Debby, and Jenna.

He had already made it through more than half the day, and that was only because every class he went to was just reviewing the rules of their class and stupid shit Tyler didn't care about. One rule that stuck out to Tyler was 'no using your powers in the class without permission' because part of Tyler's power was literally and uncontrollably on all of time.

He had a two classes with Jenna, and one class with patrick, so he felt kind of okay. Of course he still felt anxiety about accidentally walking into the wrong class as it's only the first day of classes, but he was managing. Josh was also helping him, mostly due to the fact that Tyler had no clue where any of his classes were. Josh had also told him that they have music on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays together, which he was looking forward to as well.

 

He was very excited for his next class as Josh, Melanie, Ashley, Brendon, Debby, and Jenna would be in it. The class was training for powers, and he couldn't be more happy. Tyler desperately needed to learn how to control moving things when he's mad. And maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to stop hearing everyone's thoughts when he wanted. He didn't know if it was possible but he sure had high hopes. 

Maybe if he couldn't stop hearing people, someone else will be able to help him. Tyler had grown to subconsciously focus on one person thoughts so he could stop hearing so many others. Of course he could still hear them, but they were just a little quieter. 

"Great conversation starter." Melanie sarcastically remarked.

Tyler was beyond confused. "What?"

"You know, people condition our hair, so why not our eyebrows?"

"Are you high?" Josh spoke just as Tyler said: "What the hell." 

"I'm not high! It just doesn't make sense to me."

"That's probably the stupidest thing you've said since we met." Jenna remarked. Suddenly, she began changing and was now Brendon.

"Gosh." Tyler mumbled. 

"Hey, I'm Brendon! I think I'm smarter than everyone yet I wonder why people don't condition their eyebrows!" Jenna mocked, except it was Brendon's voice and body. Tyler and Josh laughed.

"Oh stop, it's not his fault he's dumb!" Debby snorted, making Melanie laugh.

"Better hope he doesn't condition his eyebrows tonight!" Ashley laughed.

"I'm smarter than all of you, and you all know it."

"Surie." Josh rolled his eyes. 

"I am!" Brendon retorted. 

Their conversation came to an abrupt stop, due to the high pitch bell ringing through the group's ears. 

"Josh, let's go! D-Don't wanna be late!" Josh chuckled at the younger boy, nodding slightly.

"See y'all in a few." Josh quickly spewed out, grabbing his back back and phone, flashing a smile.

"Bye guys!" Tyler chirped, waving goodbye quickly, despite the fact that he was literally going to see them in 5 minutes. 

When the two boys got out of the cafeteria, Tyler felt a little overwhelmed with all of the people walking out, but he attempted not to show it. However, began getting a strange vibe. Tyler was searching through people but he couldn't find who was giving him the odd feeling. His breathing slightly became quicker because of it. Realizing what was happening, Josh pulled Tyler through the crowd into a hallway where there wasn't a lot of kids.

"You good?" Josh asked, already knowing the answer. Tyler could hear his concerned thoughts, but that honestly couldn't help less.

The younger boy shook his head. "No. S-something's bad here."

Josh furrowed his eyebrows, not quite understanding what Tyler was saying. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know." Tyler looked around. The vibe was coming closer. "I feel s-someone's vibes, and they're not good." 

Josh's eyes widened, and he was praying to god that it wasn't who he thought it was. "Who?" He questioned.

"I-I don't know."

The vibe was coming even closer, and Tyler's breathing was quickening. 

"It's him, the boy in the black." Tyler said quietly, and Josh looked to to see a face he recognized. It was a mutant, and his name was Frank. Mutants always wore black.

"Don't say anything to him, okay?"

Tyler slightly nodded, but was confused as to why he was approaching Tyler anyway.

Josh however, knew exactly why.  Josh knew it was one of Magneto's followers. Any insider would know that the mutants would be lurking in the halls at the begging of the school year to obviously try to see who was new, what the new student could do, and if it was a useful power.

The red haired boy felt grateful that he was walking with Tyler, because if he wasn't, Tyler would be dead in the next week, no doubt. This hadn't been Josh's first experience with a mutant, and most certainly wouldn't be his last if he was going to be friends with Tyler, which he obviously wanted. 

Frank was only steps away, and Josh couldn't help but feel like it was his fault for not telling or warning Tyler about the mutants and what they could do. 

Josh couldn't say anything to Tyler because Frank was only a few feet away, and would probably hear them. Thinking of a solution was hard, because he wanted to tell Tyler what he was and what he would and could do, but he couldn't just say it. But then it hit him, he couldn't say it, he could think it. Frank was now standing in front of him, and Tyler was nervous. 

"I assume you're new because I've not seen your face before."

Tyler looked at Josh, who nodded. "Um, yeah. I'm Tyler." 

Tyler heard Josh's thought, which was the same thing repetitively. Don't say your powers. Don't say your powers. Don't say your powers.

"I'm Frank. What's your ability?" Tyler's heart best quickened, and he tried to act normal.

"It's, um, I would show you, b-but I'm running low on energy."

"No problem." He cleared his throat. "I'll be back so you can show me, then." Looking back at Josh, there was fear present in his eyes. 

"So Joshua, how've you been?"

"Not like you would care." Josh muttered. 

"How's debby?"

"We broke up." Josh rolled his red eyes. Hearing Josh get angrier, Tyler tried to tell him to calm down in his head.

"Oh, is he," Frank looked over to Tyler, then back to Josh. "Your rebound?" Frank edged Josh even more.

"No, he's a friend." Tyler's heartbeat slightly increased at Josh calling him his friend.

"How's Dallon?" Josh obviously couldn't stand to hear anymore mentions of Dallon, and launched at the older boy, hands grabbing his head, burning them. 

Frank let out a screech and Tyler made Josh get off of him with his mind. If Frank didn't know Dallon was dead, Josh wouldn't have attacked him. But he knew damn well he was dead.

He was the one who killed him, after all. 

Josh was breathing heavily, "Can you make people forget things?" Tyler nodded. "Make him forget that." Tyler nodded, and quickly made eye contact with Frank, his eyes turned red, and in a few seconds his brain was wiped from the memory.

He had the burn mark from Josh's hand on his face, but had no idea who it was from or what it was from. Josh felt slightly relieved that the burn mark didn't look like a hand, because if it did, they would know it was him. 

"No problem. I'll be back so you can show me." Frank said again. Tyler grinned at Josh.

"S-sure."

Both boys walked away this time. Hearing Josh's thoughts, Tyler stopped in his tracks, grabbing Josh.

"Are you alright?" Tyler questioned the red-eyed boy, looking up at him. Usually, people wouldn't say alright when asking the question that Tyler did. Everyone asked if you were okay. Tyler didn't like the word for multiple reasons. He felt like the word okay had too many different meanings to be used as casual as it was. When people were sad, they'd say they were okay. When they were happy, they'd say that they were okay too. He figured he should probably tell Josh that for future reference.

"I-I guess. It's just that he killed Dallon." Tyler let out a small gasp.

"Oh my goodness, I'm s-so sorry, Josh."

"It's fine. Not like you did anything."

There was a quiet silence for a few moments, but Tyler broke it. "Wanna know s-something weird?"

"Surie."

"I hate the word okay, when being used as 'Are you okay?' or as 'I'm okay.' I know it's weird, but I just hate it."

"Oh?" Josh laughed, not really knowing what else to do. "Why?"

"It has too many meanings. People always say they're okay even when they aren't. I don't like using it or when others use it because it can be misinterpreted."

"I've never thought about it like that."

"I just don't like it." Tyler had then remembered this was school, and they have classes, and they can get marked late. "Josh we have to go! We're gonna be–" Tyler was interrupted by the bell, which made him roll his eyes and turn back to Josh. "late."

"Oh well. They can't blame you because you're new."

"Yeah, but you'll get in trouble!"

"It's fine, Ty. I don't really care."

The brunette blushed when Josh called him Ty. "But I care," He sighed. "I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."

"It wasn't your fault, so it's okay. Let's run since you're so worried about being late."

The pair ran as fast as they could, and Josh opened the door to see a bunch if kids he recognized, and Tyler only saw a few. Melanie raised her eyebrows at the the two, and Tyler, confused looked down.

His face was almost has red as Josh's hair when he realized they were still holding hands from running. 

Josh laughed at Tyler's expression, but he didn't let go of Tyler's hand. Instead, he pulled him over towards their friend group, and then releasing his hand. The brown haired boy would be lying if he said he didn't miss his touch. Josh missed it too, and Tyler heard it, which made his cheeks a little pink. 

Josh broke the silence."We ran into Frank." The group gasped.

"Well, h-he ran into us." Tyler corrected.

"Why? What did that freak want?" Jenna asked, with furrowed eyebrows. 

"He wanted to know my name and my powers. He also made Josh mad because he said something about Dallon."

"You didn't tell him about your powers, did you?" Debby's concerned eyes met Tyler's as he shook his head.

"I said my name, but then I said I was low on energy, so I didn't have to show him."

"Oh, thank god Tyler. If they would've found out what you could so you'd be dead today."

Tyler's eyes widened, his mouth slightly opened, "What?"

"Josh you didn't tell him?" Brendon chimed in, which made Tyler look at Josh, wondering what he didn't tell him.

"I couldn't have while he was around, idiot."

"True." Brendon respond with, nodding his head slightly.

"Why-why would they kill me?!" A frantic Tyler asked, staring at the group in fear.

Ashley began to speak. "They like to drink our blood so the-"

"They want your powers." Melanie summed up.

"J-just mine?"

"No, but you're rare, so they'd want you especially."

"Oh." Tyler whispered. 

"How do they get powers?"

"They kill you, suck out your blood with this really strange tube, then they boil it and add it to some sort of other potion. They drink it and have your powers." Brendon answered Tyler's question with ease, as he study it and was extremely smart.

Tyler, however was mortified. "Oh my goodness." He mumbled. 

"Don't worry Ty, we'll be here to protect you."

"I hope s-so."


	5. someone has a lisp !!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ty is so cute aw

"Tyler, fu-"

"Don't say it!" 

"What?"

"Swear! My Ma said I'm n-not allowed to swear, so d-don't swear around me! La La La La La," Tyler's hands were over his ears, trying to prevent himself from hearing curses.

"Shut the hell up, good lord." 

"You j-just swore!" The younger boy exclaimed, flailing his thin arms in the air.

"Hell is not a curse," Melanie argued back.

Josh watched, clearly amused with the feud unfolding in front of him.

"Tyler you said hell earlier,"

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"I did not."

"Yes you did."

"N-no."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"I really d-didn't! Stop lying!" Josh's eyes widened when he heard Tyler say stop. How has he not noticed it before? Tyler had a lisp. 

"Awe Ty! I didn't know you had a lisp!" Josh pointed it out to Tyler without thinking that it may embarrass him. A blush appeared on the younger boys face, clearly embarrassed. 

"It's not cute. Don't awe it."

"Oh my gosh, no!" Ashely budded in, smiling reassuringly at Tyler. "It's so cute don't put yourself down!"

"It is adorable, Tyler." Brendon agreed.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "It's not." He sighed and looked down for a second. "It sucks. I sound like a snake."

"I'm not gonna argue with you, angel. But it's cute and I don't care what you think."

The sixteen year olds face turned a bright red, and he buried his face into his hands."Please don't call me t-that."

Josh edged closer to Tyler's ear, quickly whispering,"I only speak the truth, angel."

"Alright guys! The purpose of this class is to be teaching you how to control your powers. It may be hard for some of you as your power may be strong."

Multiple teachers began pacing around and chatting with students, writing down the student's name ability and age. Tyler was still flustered, and tried not freak out at the thought of Josh calling him angel.

"Hi! Name, Ability, Age?"

"Tyler Joseph, I guess Mind control, and 16?"

"What do you mean you guess? Do you not know your powers, lad?"

"No, I do. It's just I don't, don't know how to put it into words? Like, it's more than mind control and more than mind reading, I can do other things involving mind as well."

"Which are?"

"I can go back in someone's head and see what they've been through, l-like see their memories as if I'm reliving them. And when I touch someone I get flashbacks of important parts of their lives."

"Interesting." 

"And I can make people forget t-things and communicate with them in their mind as well."

"Good lord, you've got stronger powers than Professor Charles X himself."

The boy blushed a little red. Not only did he know Josh was watching him because of his thoughts, but he could feel his stare. His red eyes watched intriguingly at the boy, and it made Tyler's hands sweat. Josh's white chair was even turned towards Tyler.

The black tables of the light blue colored room added a nice touch to it. The groups of friends were paired in two, each sitting with two at a table. The chairs that paired with the black tables were white and Tyler would be lying if he said he didn't think it was aesthetically pleasing. The floors were a a white tile, and the rooms cleanliness was very high 9 on a scale from 1-10. 

The woman asking him questions went by the name of Marina, and Tyler thought she was quite beautiful. But Jenna was prettier to him, at least. Marina had on a white dress, red lipstick, and had her hair up in neat bun. Her smile was brighter than the author of this book's future and Tyler couldn't help but wish he had straight teeth like she did.

Tyler had been very self conscious of his teeth ever since someone made a comment about it. The same thing happened with his lisp, which he has because if his crooked teeth, except it was some repulsive kid from the grade above Tyler's in front of the whole cafeteria.

"Name, ability, and age?"

"You know all of that, Mar." Josh rolled his eyes at the red-lipped girl in front of him.

"Still, I need to confirm it." Fiery red eyes met with Marina's brown ones as he signed.

"Joshua Dun. Ability to shoot fire from hands, 17."

"Thanks, Joshua."

"Go suck a-"

"Lollipop." She interrupted. "Josh, he's innocent." She looked at the sixteen year old boy next to him. "Don't corrupt him."

White teeth flashed when Josh grinned. "I won't." Marina nodded as she gave a generous closed-mouth smile. "Yet."

Tyler and Marina's eyes widened, along with Tyler blushing, which was something he was doing quite frequently when Josh was present. Marina shook her head and sighed.

"Bye, Tyler." The brown haired boy awkwardly waved. Tyler tried to ignore the off feeling he got about Marina.

Once the Marina walked away, Tyler began conversing about their prior subject. "It's because of my c-crooked teeth, you know."

Josh looked away from Melanie and Ashley, who were having a conversation in front of them that drew his attention. He had be watching them recently, Josh could tell something was up with a Melanie by the way she was acting.

"What?" Josh asked, confused due to not listening.

"My l-lisp?" Tyler tried to ignore the way he said lisp wrong. "It's because of my crooked teeth." He opened his mouth slightly, to show his bottom set of crooked teeth, which were quite cute. 

"Aw!" Josh was not helping the situation.

"Josh it's r-really not cute, please stop." Tyler's voice was quieter and strained, a pink color flushing his cheeks. Tyler closed his eyes, sighing as he heard Josh try to think of something to say. According to his thoughts, Josh actually thought it was cute, but the constant teasing Tyler received throughout his life wouldn't let him live it down.

When class finished, Tyler wanted to go outside, or just do something fun. Josh gathered his friends attention, which took a good ten minutes, and they were all sitting outside on a red and white knitted blanket. 

The tree they were under provided shade and was very pretty to look at. Brendon, Tyler, Josh, Debby, Melanie, and Jenna were all talking about anything they could think of. It was Melanie's turn to play music today, and daddy issues by the neighborhood was in the background of the conversation. Josh was humming to it, as it was one of his favorite songs at the moment.

"Where's A-Ashley?" Tyler spoke to no one in particular, looking around the grassland. He spotted her with some other kids, slightly frowning.

"She goes with them sometimes." Melanie spoke, staring at the girl she was so fond with in the distance.

"Why? You guys are pretty lit."

"I don't know." Melanie answered Tyler's question as Josh asked another. "Did you just say lit?"

"Yeah...did I use it wrong?"

"No, no. It's just....weird, I guess. Nobody says that anymore."

Tyler pretended to be offended. "Well I exist, therefore I'm a s-somebody and and I say it so you, my friend, are indeed w-wrong."

"When isn't he?" Debby budded in.

"Mel, I love you and all, but could you please stop being so in love with Ashley? I don't think you could get gayer."

"You're gay?!" Tyler gasped, he'd never meant anyone else who had liked the same gender before. The group looked at the boy as if he had a fawn on his head. "Me too! W-well not all the way, only like half." Tyler corrected himself.

"Then you're bi." Josh told him.

"What?" Tyler furrowed his thick eyebrows.

"Bisexual. It means you like boys and girls. Josh, Deb, Cal, and Ash are all bi." Jenna told him.

"Oh." Tyler nodded. 

"I wish I knew if Ashley liked me or not." Melanie muttered.

"Tyler could find out." Josh suggested.

The girl's eyes widened, "Oh my gosh! Do it."

"But what's in it for me?" Tyler questioned, frowning.

"And me?" Josh added, and Tyler rolled his eyes.

"What's i-in it for us?" He corrected.

"What do you want?" Melanie questioned the boys.

"Yeah!" Tyler spoke aloud, responding to the thought Josh had just thought. "Immortality. Can you give us that?"

"Ugh! You're gonna make me give you my blood bags just so I can figure out if my crush likes me?" Melanie let out an exasperated sigh.

"Well, yeah." Tyler shrugged.

"Fair enough." Melanie nodded. "But find out now."

"But she's with-she's with other kids."

"Go get her and tell her you need to talk to her or something."

Tyler scratched his head awkwardly, chewing on his bottom lip as he stared at Josh. "What do I say though?"

"Say you like Jenna and wanna impress her."

"But what if s-she likes Jenna-"

"Then say Brendon."

"But what if she likes Bren-"

"Then say Josh."

"But what if s-she likes-"

"Just do it, Tyler! Goddamn." He sighed at Melanie's sudden outburst, deciding to just go with the last suggestion. The boy got up, wiping the stray grass off of his jeans and slowly approaching the black haired girl.

She was with a few people who he had seen in his classes and was talking with them. Her black curly hair was pulled into a high ponytail and her makeup was done very nicely. Tyler assumed she had done it when class finished.

"H-hey Ashley?" His voice was slightly shaky and she turned around to meet Tyler's brown eyes.

"Hey Ty. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you could help me with s-something?"

"Sure what is it?"

The boy noticed the few people around them were listening. "Can I, uh, t-tell you over there?" He motioned his head towards a different direction, away from the people eavesdropping. Ashley got up, with the help of Tyler and frowned one she began thinking of the possibilities that something was wrong.

"It's not bad," Tyler reassured. "I just want your help, with uh, makeup, maybe? If you could, you don't have to, but it would be nic-"

"I'll help! Come into my room and I'll show you. But we have to fix those "eyebrows first." Tyler chuckled and nodded, allowing Ashley to drag him into the doors of the school.

Tyler may have not told Melanie or Josh about wanting to try makeup, but when he saw how nice Ashley's was, he couldn't help but want to test it out. His mother would probably break his nose if she saw him like this, but he didn't care that much. She couldn't see him, so it didn't matter.

He was going to talk to Ashley while she was doing his makeup anyway, so it was a win-win. Tyler would wear makeup like he wanted and Melanie would get a girlfriend. It was a win-win. That is, if she liked her back, of course. 

Once the pair got into her dorm, Ashley began showing Tyler what makeup to use and where put it. However, before applying any to his face, she decided to fix his mess of eyebrows. Tyler winced when Ashley began waxing his right eyebrow, but dealt with the pain in order to get an answer out of a Ashley.

"Do you think Josh is cute?" Tyler questioned, slightly wincing at the feeling of the hot wax on his face.

"He's hot, but I wouldn't date him."

"Wh-Ow!" Tyler flinched when she quickly pulled of the wax from his eyebrow.

"I lo-like someone else." Ashley's face turned pink, and Tyler chuckled.

"Jenna?" He asked, smiling.

"No." Ashley shook her head.

"Melanie?" He questioned, hearing her thoughts.

"Yeah," She nodded, face going red, "But I think she likes Jenna." She finished his right eyebrow when he finished his sentence.

"Oh. I think you s-should ask her out."

The girl shook her head as she placed more wax on Tyler's other brow. "I don't have the guts, and plus there's always that possibility that she doesn't like me." She reminded Tyler, although she completely wrong.

Ashley was nearly finished when Tyler began to speak again, "What would you do if s-she asked you out?"

"Cry, probably." Tyler laughed as she plucked a few stray hairs on his eyebrow.

 

Meanwhile, Melanie and Josh were trying to figure out ways she could give them her power of immortality. She kept running her hand through her purple-black hair as Josh bounced ideas into her head. She knew cutting a body part to give them blood would be stupid because she heals to fast, so she didn't know what to do. They also knew that Tyler and Josh couldn't just drink her blood, and that they'd have to figure out how to make her powers work on both Josh and Tyler.

"Should we ask Brendon? Google isn't reliable." Josh sighed, scrolling through countless stupid websites that didn't give him an knowledge.

"And Brendon is?" Melanie snorted and Josh began laughing, and shrugging.

"Worth a try." Josh looked over to Brendon, who was conversing with Jenna and Debby about whatever they could think off. "Bren?" 

The blacked haired boy looked away from Debby and to Josh, "Hm?"

"How do we make Melanie give us immortality?"

"She can't give blood easily due to her quick healing process," Brendon paused, biting his lip, "An IV, maybe?" The boy suggested, which made Josh nod. "I can do it if you want."

"Okay." Melanie nodded.

"Thanks, doll."

As the pair began talking about IVs, they both failed to notice Ashley and Tyler walking towards them. Tyler interrupted their conversation by sitting down and flashing a smile with his new pink colored lips. Josh's mouth fell open as he stared at the beautiful boy's makeup. His dark mascara coated eyelashes fluttered shut as he showed Melanie his makeup. 

 

"Ashley's the best." Tyler declared. "S-she even did my eyebrows, aren't they nice?" Tyler grinned at Ashley.

So Tyler may have told Ashley about wanting to impress Josh. But only a little bit. He just wanted Josh to think he was pretty and according to Josh's thoughts, Tyler achieved far past his goal.

"Tyler you look so cute!" Melanie gushed, being completely honest.

"Do you l-like it Josh?" The three turned to look at the red-haired boy, as Tyler awaited his answer.

"No," Josh said abruptly, making  Tyler's heart sink and the girls frown. "I love it. You look beautiful, angel."

Tyler blushed a bright red, and the girls awed at the sight. 

"Mel?" The girl hummed, indicating she was listening. "Can you s-speak pig latin?" The girl nodded. "Can you Ash?" Ashley shook her head and Tyler grinned. 

"Why?" Melanie asked.

Tyler replied with a different answer. "Eshay ikeslay ouyay ackbay." Melanie's eyes widened as she began to understand the sentence, and she squealed.  [ She likes you back. ]

"I'mway onnagay ycray!" [ I'm gonna cry! ]

Tyler laughed and smiled. "Ty, we forget to tell you, but we need to tell you about the mutants."

"Shoot."

"Well for starters you really have to be careful when it comes to who you talk to about your powers." Josh spoke.

Melanie added on to his sentence. "You'll never know who you're actually talking to until it's too late, and when you find out, you're already in danger."

Ashley nodded. "It happened to me. I told someone about my powers and then found out they were actually a mutant."

"I had to kill them." Melanie rolled her eyes. "Either way, just be careful about what you say to people you don't know Tyler. You can trust us, but don't trust other people because you never really know if they are who they say they are."

"Noted."

"You especially." Ashley added.

"Your power is rare because people usually cannot deal with the powers you have. It makes them nuts and well, they, give themselves to mutants so their powers aren't wasted." Josh spoke calmly, despite the sad things he had just said.

"Although the power is still kind of wasted, as mutants are a waste of oxygen." Ashley replied, making Tyler laugh.

"Tell him about Ryan!" Melanie suggested.

"Oh, he was amazing."

"What h-happened to him?" Tyler was afraid to ask.

"He had accidentally told a mutant his powers. They were the same as yours, even though you have a more abilities. They attacked him and drained his blood out." Ashley spoke sadly.

"I found him dead, though." Josh said, slightly smiling at the good memories he had with his old best friend Ryan.

"But anyway, the point is to please be careful when you're telling people stuff, okay Honey?"

"O-okay."


	6. stitches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a time skip of about two weeks. This chapter mentions blood, and further chapters will likely continue to have mentions of blood as well. If that may trigger you, I don't advise you to read this book. You should be safe no matter what.  
> play Breathe Me by Sia.

Tyler was unaware of the fact that was humming the tune of song he had wrote a few days ago. Josh was silently watching the boy, trying to identify what song he was singing. So far, he had been unsuccessful. 

Josh obviously wasn't going to be able to figure out the song, seeing as he had never heard it. Well, the tune, at least. Tyler was quietly playing the piano to the song late last night and Josh had just so happened to be awake.

"Tyler, you're gonna be late." Josh reminded his younger roommate, deciding to stop Tyler's absent mind humming.

 

"I don't even know the way to my cl-class, I'm gonna be late anyway."

 

"You don't even need makeup, it's just school."

"I'm always at s-school, Josh." Tyler glanced back at Josh and shook his head before going back to his eyeliner. "I j-just gotta make these wings even."

"How do you still not know your way?" Josh changed the subject.

"How do you s-still not not understand my love for makeup?" Tyler retorted.

"Do you need me to walk you to class?"

"Sure." Tyler shrugged. "Also, you s-said you liked the makeup, so why are you complaining about it?"

 

"I don't care about you wearing makeup, angel." Josh walked over to Tyler and observed the boy. "I just wish you wouldn't be late for your classes."

 

Tyler sighed when he messed up again. "I know, but I just woke up late." 

 

"It's fine. I don't really care that much."

 

"Wanna know something weird?"

 

"I freakin' hate it when people think I'm transgender because I wear makeup. Can't I just ex-express myself? Ugh!"

Josh laughed. "Stereotypes." He rolled his eyes.

 

"I feel way nicer when I wear makeup. If it wasn't for Ashley, I wouldn't have even thought I could." Tyler mumbled finally once he got his wing to match the other eye. He smiled at his reflection and walked over the grab his backpack.

 

The walk to Tyler's class was quiet. The presence of each other seemed calming to them, however. Josh always had his force field, to block Tyler from his thoughts, so he was growing accustomed to not hearing Josh. Tyler remembered the way to his classes, and he was pretty sure that Josh knew it,as well. Tyler couldn't forget the way to his classes. Tyler couldn't forget anything. 

 

The younger boy felt the need to always be around people in the hallways because of the incident with Frank. Different scenarios about how someone else could find out his powers filled his mind, so he was always cautious. Paranoia is what he considered it, but was he just being paranoid or cautious. Maybe, just maybe, it was better than not caring at all. 

Once they had gotten to Tyler's class, he had thanked Josh quietly and walked it. He smiled in relief when he realized his teacher, Mr.Gaskarth wasn't in the room. Patrick smiled at him when he walked in, and Tyler smiled back as he walked over. 

 

"I was wondering where you were." The red haired boy commented quietly.

 

"I was t-t-trying to get my wing right," He replied, sighing. "I'm not very good at it. I think I need to ask Jenna for some tips."

 

Patrick nodded, about to speaks when Mr.Gaskarth came in, silencing all conversations. He smiled at the class and Tyler stared at the board, trying to figure out the lesson planned for the day. Something about biology, he could only assume. For the past two weeks, it's been what they have been learning about, so it only made sense.

Tugging the red adidas jacket closer to him, Tyjer slightly shivered. It felt very cold for only being October. He hoped he wouldn't get sick for halloween.

 

The class was only 57 minutes long, which was a good and bad thing. When class was boring, it was good, but when he had a fun teacher and actually enjoyed the people in the classes' company, it was bad because he didn't want to leave.

Once the bell rung, he smiled happily. He had English with Josh, which made him happy. Technically, he didn't really have honors, but he was taking a senior class as a junior, which made him smarter than other kids.

Tyler practically ran out of the room, waiting for Josh. Fiery red hair came into Tyler's view and he began walking towards him.

 

"Ty?" The younger tried not to blush at the thought of Josh calling him Ty, but clearly failed. 

 

"Hm?" 

 

"What-What were you singing earlier? I haven't heard it before."

 

Tyler's cheeks flushed red, and he tried not just die right then and there. "It's um, my s-song."

 

"You wrote it?" Tyler shyly nodded.  "It sounds ni-"

Josh was interrupted by a loud noise, almost like an explosive noise. It was so loud.

 

"Oh my gosh!" Out of fright, Tyler jumped and grabbed Josh's arm instantly, out of habit. It didn't both him though.

 

"What the hell?" Josh began walking faster, allowing Tyler to cling to his arm and trail behind. The duo turned to right, and faced a horrendous smell.

 

Ash. It had to be ash. Metal, as well. The smell of metal and ash filled the air, and the aroma of fear and unawareness filled the air, too. As he gripped onto Josh, Tyler's hands were shaking at the strange thoughts he was hearing. Each and every thought he seemed to head made him feel more uneasy. Suddenly, Tyler was able to put the pieces together. Ash, the smell of metal, and a loud sound didn't make much sense. That is, unless, you are talking about an explosive of some sort. Had someone did this purposely? Tyler wanted to throw up at the thought of his assumptions being correct.

 

"S-should we-should we go see what h-happened?"

 

Josh nodded slowly. Of course he was slightly nervous to see what had happened. He had experience a lot of awful things in his short lifetime, so he had learned to expect the worst. Having false hope is one of the Josh's bigger fears, so in order to avoid it, he doesn't hope for the best anymore.

When they had approached the next hallway, Josh was slightly reluctant to turn to the next hallway, obviously. He didn't know if this was going to be a huge bloody murder or if something had just went wrong in the science lab. It likely wasn't the latter, and Josh was already leaning towards the worst possible case scenario, but Tyler sure wasn't.  Tyler was think positive, and hoping that everyone and everything was okay.

 

If only that was the case.

 

Negative thinking surely was on Josh's side as they two boys turned and saw the damage. Tyler let out a loud gasp as he put a hand over his mouth, and Josh just stared wide-eyed.

Occasionally the way Josh thought helped me, such as now. Always thinking positive seems like a good thing, but there's always a possible change for negative outcomes, and that's why Josh always expected the worst. 

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened in the school. Sure, Tyler and Josh had never experienced this before but this kind of scene wasn't exactly new for the academy.

Assumptions were made by the two boys as they stared at the multiple body's lying on the floor. Only one of them was correct, and it happened to be Josh.

He was thinking that this was a mutant, or maybe more than one. Maybe a group. He was thinking that the mutants had set off some sort of explosive and  tried to make a little damage. They probably didn't want to kill to many people, and just warn them that they were coming. 

However, by the looks of it, it had seemed that more than one person was killed, or was dying, at least. Josh's heart dropped when he remembered that Debby was in the class that the explosion looked closest to.

Hands slightly shaking, Josh turned to Tyler, "Debby's in that class." The older boy spoke quietly. 

 

Wide eyed and shocked, Tyler quietly gasped at the new information. Was Debby okay? Was she hurt? Was she passed out? Was she bleeding? Was she trying to help other people who were hurt? Was she alive? "Oh my goodness." The brunette muttered.

 

"I hope she's okay," Distraughtly, Josh spoke. 

 

Grabbing the taller boy's hand, Tyler made a decision for the both of them, "We have to find her."

"I can't do this."  What if Debby wasn't alive? How would Josh be able to cope with another death in his friend group? Would it even be possible for Josh to live with losing another one of his best friends, again?

 

"Yes you can." Tyler reassured him, smiling slightly, despite the situation. 

 

The younger boy tugged at the older boy's hand, indicating for him to follow him. Smoke, debris, and ash filled the air, making it a bit hard to breathe, but they managed. A limp body was on the floor, and because of the amount of smoke in the area, Tyler didn't see it, and nearly fell. Luckily, Josh grabbed him before he could collapse onto the ash dusted floor. The process to clean this must be impossible. 

"Let's go into the class." Due to it being very loud from people panicking and fire alarms, Josh had to slightly shout. The smaller boy didn't respond, instead following him into the room.

Grey clouds sprayed the air whilst ash generously danced in the atmosphere. Usually, the room was painted a nice light blue color, but it now looked grey and gloomy. Identifying how many people were in the room was quite a challenge because it was hard to see. More of a challenge was trying not walk into or step on things. Finding Debby was definitely not going to be easy.

Coughing was a frequent sound heard by Josh and Tyler. Tyler kept constantly coughing and made Josh slightly nervous even though he didn't show it.

"Do you wanna look outside and I'll look for her in here, and see if she's on the ground?" Breathing was slowly becoming harder for Tyler, but he was okay right now. Nodding weakly, Josh proceeded to exit the classroom and look for Debby in the smoke filled hallway. Crouching on the ground with smoke filling up your lungs wasn't exactly the most enjoyable experience, but Tyler wasn't concerned about himself at all right now. His main focus was Debby, which he had no luck of finding. 

Josh's heart stopped beating when he heard the same explosion noise he had heard earlier. It was much farther, distance wise, than the last explosive, but this one was directly in the classroom. Tyler was in that classroom. Flames and ash covered anything else visible and Josh couldn't see anything as he began running. 

Screams made him more anxious as he tried to find the younger boy. Was he okay? Tyler didn't die, right? Breathing became harder for Josh, slightly because of the smoke, more so because of Tyler. He began looking at the multiple people he had seen laying in the floor. 

Multiple people soon ran into the class, and water shot out of their hands rather quickly, which caused the fires to stop and the smoke to become more transparent. Tyler's limp body came into view. Not only was the boy soaked in water, he was soaked in blood as well. The large bloodied gash in his forehead made Josh's stomach hurt.

 

"Josh! Are you okay?" Debby ran up to him, checking his face for marks or cuts.

 

"We've been looking for you." Relief flooded Josh as he that Debby looked pretty safe. "I'm okay. He's not." Tilting his head down, Josh indicated Tyler was okay, as Debby stared at the boy for a few seconds.

 

"We have to get him to the nurse! He's losing blood!"

 

"I'll carry him." Josh lifted Tyler up with ease as he carried him bridal style out of the classroom. Running into the hallway with a bloody passed out boy over your shoulder seemed extremely suspicious, but Josh didn't care. As long as Tyler was safe. 

The red haired girl trailed behind them anxiously, hoping Tyler would be okay. The nurses rooms' looked quite like a hospital. Kids get hurt a lot when you're in a school with super powers. Despite the line in front of Tyler, the nurse took frantically made Josh place him onto an empty hospital bed and Debby closed the curtains so the group could a have a little bit of privacy.

 

"How did this happen?" Concerned, the nurse asked.

 

"We weren't there. Tyler was in the classroom the explosion was in." 

 

Solemnly, the nurse nodded. There was much of anything she could really say, anyhow. Words didn't matter much to them anyway, because they just wanted to make sure Tyler was okay. 

Watching someone get stitches on their forehead isn't exactly the most pleasant thing to witness, especially when then didn't deserve it at all. Debby felt absolutely awful because she knew that Tyler was looking for her. 14 stitches were on his face, along with a white wrap that covered it up. Blood soaked through the wrap, so it looked slightly red now, but that was the least of their concerns.

"Just make sure you watch over him carefully, please. Let him rest and don't let him get up I'm going to give you a few iron pills that I would like him to take because he's lost a lot of blood."

 

"Thank you." Josh gave a tight-lipped smiled. 

 

Josh didn't care if he had to miss school and be Tyler's personal servant for a view days. He didn't mind at all, in fact. As long as Tyler was safe, nothing else mattered.


	7. secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka josh is fucking dick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you might hate me by the end of this
> 
> arms by christina perri should be played while reading ya heardddd

When Tyler woke up, the pain in his head was unbearable. Normally, he was pretty tolerant with pain. But this wasn't really normal and this pain wasn't exactly tolerant with him. His right hand touched his forehead, causing him to slightly wince at the pain he had felt. Blood stained his fingers as he touched the stitched up wound. 

He was confused, to say the least. How did he get here? The last thing Tyler remembered was getting hit with something after the heard the loud noise. As he looked around the location he was in, he started to realize where he was. Was Josh here? Or was he in class? Was it even school time? Was it the weekend? How long has Tyler been asleep?

Sighing, Tyler decided to just call Josh's name to see if he was here. "J-josh?"

A frown fell upon his face when he heard no reply. Tyler's head was pounding. He could hardly remember much. The 16 year old choose to call Josh again. "Josh? Are you here?" 

Immediately, he heard footsteps, which answered his question rather quickly. Tyler tried to sit up, but was dealt with the strong ache in his head, making him lay back down and groan.

"How's your head feeling? Are you o-alright?" Tyler smiled when Josh corrected himself when he was going to say okay. He remembered.

 

Tyler most certainly was going to remember this as well, but not just because he couldn't forget anything. Mostly because of Josh's current outfit - a towel.

Beads of water dripped off of his red hair and his toned body. As he stared at Josh, Tyler was subconsciously chewing his lip. It was hard to not look, he was gorgeous. His V-line made Tyler want to pass out right on the spot. 

A blush came onto Josh's cheeks as he noticed Tyler's staring. Shifting uncomfortably, Josh gripped the towel that was hiding the rest of his body tighter. Imagining the towel falling off of his body scared him more than anything at the moment.

"It's-I'm o-okay, I guess? I mean, it really hurts so I g-guess not, but it's-uh can I have a painkiller?" Tyler mentally cringed at the use of the word, but he didn't show it.

 

Josh could barely make out what Tyler was saying, mostly because he was mumbling and talking to fast. Understanding the last part of his sentence was easier however, so he walked into the bathroom to get the medication Tyler requested. He had went into the small kitchen like area of the dorm and got a glass of water for Tyler.

As soon as Josh left, Tyler tried to get himself together. 

Handing Tyler the pills and a glass of water, Josh softly spoke, "Here, honey." That surely didn't help. Red cheeks were visible on Tyler. Josh chuckled. "I'm gonna go put on clothes. I'll be back." Weakly nodding, Tyler slightly smiled.

Swallowing the pills quickly, Tyler laid back down. His head really hurt and he didn't exactly want Josh to be away. About 5 minutes later, though, Josh came back. 

His clothed body slightly disappointed Tyler, but he he didn't show it. "Is it okay if everyone comes over for a bit?" Josh questioned. "They wanted to see you." He added. 

 

"S-sure." After thinking about Josh's words for a few seconds, a question popped into his head. "How long have I been asleep?"

 

Chuckling, Josh answered, "3 days." 

 

Tyler's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

 

"100 percent." Josh confirmed.

 

"I-I should probably g-go to the bathroom and make myself look p-presentable." The smaller boy suggested.

However, Josh shook his head. He didn't want Tyler to get up unless he really needed to. His body was healing and Josh was told to make sure he rested. Besides, no one would really care if Tyler looked all that great, because they would understand.!He was pain, so they wouldn't care at all.

"Don't." Josh directed. "Just lay down. No ones gonna care if you have makeup on or anything."

 

The brunette didn't agrue, instead crossing his arms over his chest and sighing. "You're mean."

 

"No, 'm not. I'd rather you be safe than 'pretty'." The quotation gesture Josh made on the word pretty made Tyler slightly blushed.

 

"What'd you mean?" Tyler asked, turning his head to look directly at Josh, even though the position made him a bit uncomfortable.

 

"I would rather you be safe and in less pain than to be what you think is pretty. Do you want breakfast?" 

 

Sitting up, Tyler said, "No, wait. I'm confused. What d-do you mean what I think is pretty? Y-you've said you liked my makeup..." The brunette trailed off, not knowing what to say.

 

"I never said I didn't like the makeup. I just happened to think you're pretty without makeup as well, angel."

 

The red sweater Tyler was wearing matched perfectly to his face. "O-oh."nLooking down, Tyler subconsciously fumbled with his fingers.

 

"Do you want breakfast now?"

 

"Mhm." Weakly, Tyler nodded as laid back down. 

What did Josh mean by that? Was he implying that he found Tyler attractive? If there was anyone who ever confused Tyler like this with just their words, surely, it would be Josh. Things like this confused the younger boy, and never had he been complemented in such a discreet way. 

Loud knocks on the door could be heard whilst Josh finished up breakfast. When Tyler attempted to get the door, Josh sent him a look and he laid back down, sighing. 

Familiar faces began walking in the door, and then walking over to Tyler. Brendon, Jenna, Debby, Ashley, Scarlett, and Patrick came into Tylers view, which made him blush slightly.

"Hey," Brendon quietly observed the boy before speaking again. "How are you feeling?"

 

"Eh."After coming with words to express what he was feeling, he awkwardly added, "My h-hurts, but I mean that's kind of obvious."

 

Chuckling, Brendon nodded. "I would assume."

 

"Scale from 1 to 10, how bad is the pain?" Debby interrogated.

 

"Seven. O-or maybe a eight." 

 

"I wish we knew why this happened." Patrick sighed.

 

Ashley sympathetically looked at Tyler before responding to Patrick. "Same as well. Maybe we could figure it out." She suggested.

 

"How the hell are we supposed to that, exactly?" Scarlett raised an eyebrow at the girl, shooting her a skeptical look.

 

"Well, think of everything we know and use that to gather conclusions." Brendon agreed.

 

"You sound like a scientist." Josh rolled his eyes, directing them back at Tyler a second later. "Ty, here." Josh handed him a plate full of bacon and eggs and Tyler smiled. "You want orange juice or chocolate milk?"

 

"C-chocolate milk, please."

 

"Alright."

 

As Josh went to get a chocolate milk, everyone began conversing about the explosion as they sat criss cross on the floor, near Tyler. Although Josh wasn't saying anything, he was listening to the group chat about what had happened. He too wanted to know their thoughts about the whole thing.

"What class was the second explosion in?"

 

"That doesn't matter."

 

"I can't remember." 

 

Handing Tyler is his beverage, Josh walked back over to the group. "What day was it? Ty, do remember what day it was?" 

 

"Yeah, tuesday the s-sixth. Why?" Tyler bit his lip nervously. 

 

"No one could know about his abilities. He's never said them to anyone but us." Debby protested, already knowing what Brendon was assuming. 

 

"Tyler have you told anyone else about your abilities?" Jenna inquired. 

 

The boy shook his head. "I've only said it to you guys and to the girl in the class where we were practicing our powers. Josh do you remember her name?"

 

"It was Marina. She wouldn't tell people. She works here." Josh said in a matter-of-factly.

 

"I'll be right back." Brendon avoided the question. Tyler was confused but didn't say anything. From what he was hearing, everyone else was confused as well.  Tyler shifted uncomfortably when Brendon nearly touched him when he was using the couch's arm rest to help him. 

It didn't make sense as to why Brendon left so suddenly. Everyone's thoughts were processing through Tyler's head quickly. Jenna was thinking about multiple ideas that slightly made sense. Ashley was thinking about it, too. Josh was unable to be heard. He had on the force field again.

 

"Hey, Josh?" Tyler spoke, gathering the attention of everyone sitting around them.

 

"Yeah?"

 

"You never answered my question." Tyler commented.

 

"What question?" Even though Josh pretended to be unaware, he knew exactly what Tyler was talking about.

 

"Why do put a force field on your mind so I can't read it?"

 

"I-I don't, uh, know." Josh stammered.

 

"Tell me." Tyler implored. 

 

"I don't want you to read my mind. There's nothing wrong with it, it just makes me uncomfortable."

 

Tyler sighed, knowing Josh didn't really give a full honest answer. "Okay." Maybe it was true, though. Or, maybe it was true but it wasn't fully the reason. This just added onto the list of why he didn't like his powers.

Last week, he wished that he couldn't read minds at all. What he had heard made him upset. Brendon liked him. He kept thinking about Tyler and Tyler didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to tell people? Was he supposed to kept it to himself?

"Tyler are you okay?" Scarlett asked quietly beside him. Confused, Tyler looked back at the girl, wanting to know why she would think that. He knows she didn't mean his head. "You've been acting....off." Although she seemed unsure of her statement Tyler knew she was right.

 

"Can I-can I tell you later?"

 

Scarlett nodded, and only about a minute after did Brendon come back in. Tyler moved slightly farther from him when he sat near the boy. Brendon didn't notice, Scarlett did, however.

"Marina wasn't here on tuesday." Josh's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the statement.

"What? Yes she was. I-We saw her." Josh insisted.

 

"Charles-I mean Professor X said so himself." Argued Brendon.

 

The brunette boy almost felt bad for acting distant towards Brendon. It wasn't like he had done anything, he simply just had feelings for the boy. But, Tyler felt like if he were to date Brendon, it would be strange, wrong, even. If Brendon liked him that could change a lot of feelings. Was Tyler being too obvious about it? Surely he must have been, if Scarlett had caught onto Tyler's strange actions. 

 

"But that doesn't make sense. I saw her too." Ashley frowned.

 

"Have you forgotten that I was there as well?" Brendon replied, making Melanie sigh.

 

"This doesn't make sense. How could we all have seen Marina if she wasn't actually there?" Melanie questioned, making eye contact with Tyler.

 

"I'm so lost." Jenna muttered, allowing her blue colored hands to run through her hair.

 

"My head s-still hurts." Groaned Tyler. Quickly, Josh got up from his prior position on the floor, lifting Tyler's head up and swiftly sitting where his head was. Gentle hands placed Tyler's head on Josh's lap and his soothing fingers began running through his hair. A small grin made its way onto his face.

 

"Better, angel?" 

Pink tints made its way onto Tyler's cheeks at the nickname. "M-much." The younger boy tried to ignore the slight frown that Brendon had rested on his lips by closing his eyes. Instead of looking towards everyone, he turned into Josh, sighing in content as the older boy relaxed him by rubbing his head.

"I'm telling you," Brendon reiterated. "Professor X said so himself."

 

"I believe you, Bren." Patrick said with a light smile, only to speak again seconds later. "But how could we have all seen her if she wasn't here?"

 

"This doesn't make sense." Debby complained, groaning only seconds later, causing Jenna to chuckle. 

Tyler was quiet, only listening to what everyone else was saying and thinking. If only he could know Josh's thoughts.

It was quite obvious that Tyler had gotten a concussion, maybe even more, so Josh was expecting him to be in pain and to be sleepy. However, Tyler was kind of needy at the moment, and Josh was loving every second of it.

The smaller boy shifted in Josh's lap, trying to get more comfortable. Taking matters into his own hands, Josh just pulled Tyler up against his chest completely, still rubbing his head. This allowed Tyler to bury his head in Josh's neck, and to be overall more comfortable. Josh's other hand slid under Tyler's shirt, softly tickling the warm skin that consisted of his back. A happy sigh was heard from Tyler, who was just cuddled into Josh. It was a cute sight, to say the least.

 

"You feeling alright?" Josh spoke almost in a whisper, as if he only wanted Tyler to hear him. 

 

Nodding, Tyler answered just as a quiet. "Mhm."

 

"Let me know if you need anything, angel." Tyler only dug his head deeper into Josh's neck, almost hiding himself so no one could see the apparent blush his cheeks. Josh chuckled loudly at his action.   
Only a few pointless sentences and thoughts later did he hear a thought from Debby. 

 

"Yes! I think Deb's right!" Turning around to look at everyone, Tyler slightly winced, as moving his head that fast slightly hurt. Everyone looked at him expectantly. "She t-thought that someone could have cloned Marina. That m-makes sense."

 

"Mutants want to know everyone's powers." Ashley added, almost helping piece the puzzle together.

"They would want to know if anything changed." Jenna spoke, slightly wide eyed.

"And want to know the new kids' powers." Patrick gulped. All eyes were only Tyler. 

"The explosion was room in twenty one, fourth floor." Debby breathed out, nervous.

"It was my next class." Tyler said quietly, no one could hear him.

"That was the class that Tyler needed to go to next." Josh said loudly, sounding more angry than nervous.

"Was someone out to get Tyler?" Brendon asked the question they were all scared of.

Shaking hands were visible on Tyler. It happened whenever he was slightly nervous. Deciding to try and sooth him, Josh pulled him back down and rubbed his head. The shaking was getting worse however. 

"You're gonna be fine, Ty. Don't worry." Josh soothingly spoke. Tyler already relaxed by his voice slightly, but it wouldn't last long until he'd get scared again. Tyler had a bad habit of overthinking, and Josh seemed to pick up on it.

"I think we should tell Professor X." Jenna said with a frown, her leg subconsciously tapping the floor.

 

"Me too." Brendon decided, getting up rather abruptly, soon helping Jenna up as well. "Who's coming?" 

 

"I'll stay here with Ty." Scarlett said, making Tyler slightly more nervous than he already was. He knew he'd have to talk about Brendon. 

 

"Me too." Josh interjected, even though everyone knew he wasn't exactly going to leave Tyler. About a minute later did everyone leave, leaving the three of them. "I'll be right back, I have to go to the bathroom." 

 

Scarlett immediately turned to Tyler as soon as he left the room. "What happened?"

 

"How d-do you know s-something happened?" Tyler asked, suspicious.

 

"You're acting weird. I don't know why, or if you've noticed, but whenever Brendon does or says anything you shift uncomfortably."

 

Tyler scoffed. "N-no I don't." 

 

Josh knew it was wrong to listen to other people's conversations, but he just heard them talking already, so it wasn't his fault he heard. Entirely.

 

"Yes you do." Scarlett dismissed, not wanting to hear Tyler's weak protest. "Anyway, did something happened between you two?" 

The second Josh heard this, he frowned. What did that mean? Who was she talking about? Who else was Tyler hanging out with?

"No. Nothing h-happened. But I heard s-something." Tyler nervously bit his lip. 

 

"About Brendon? Like in his mind? Or someone told you something?" Tyler's wording confused Scarlett and Josh as well.

 

"His t-thoughts. I heard him thinking. It was a-about me." Confessed Tyler, making Scarlett's eyes widened.

 

"Wait do you mean as in a more than friend's way or something else?" The blonde haired girl asked.'

"He likes me." Tyler sighed. Scarlett was wide eyed for a second.

 

"Oh gosh. It's okay Ty, I'm pretty sure he won't do anything."

 

"It's not that." Tyler sighed. "I don't think he'll do anything. I just...feel weird about it. I've never had a boy like me before. It's strange I guess." The younger boy rambled.

 

Scarlett seemed okay with it. Her expression was pretty neutral when Tyler told her the information. She slightly felt bad for Tyler, but for multiple reasons. Never had she meet a boy who got so stressed out and nervous so easily. It wasn't a shock to her after he told her, as she could tell something was up because he was acting nervous. It was a good thing Scarlett was okay with it, though.

 

Josh most certainly wasn't, however.


	8. always

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come as you are by nirvana

Anxiously, Josh tapped on his foot as he listened to the conversation. He didn't know exactly what to feel. On one hand, he was glad that Tyler didn't like him, judging by the way he was speaking. On the other hand, however, he wasn't so pleased. Brendon knew how Josh felt about Tyler. Sure, it had only been a few weeks since they met, but Josh got dibs.

Of course Tyler wasn't property, or something you can own, as he was his own person. But, Josh said that he wanted Tyler to himself before anyone else, and anyone who dared to step over the line was surely idiotic. 

Now, here Brendon was, going around and thinking about Tyler in a way he shouldn't, although he had every right to. However, Josh had claimed Tyler. He called dibs. You can't take what someone calls dibs on, as it's not fair. 

The faucet was turned on, mostly to seem less suspicious of listening to the conversation between the two.  Josh had absolutely no idea what to do. He could storm out of the room and break Brendon's nose, but that would be immature. Besides, would he really let a guy get in the way of Brendon and his friend ship? 

He could be completely okay about it, as well. He could stroll casually out of the bathroom and pretend like he didn't hear anything. It would be hard but he could do it.

Deceiving is an option as well. Josh could pretend to have not heard anything, and he could act very relaxed. But the second Brendon were to come back in, Josh would strike him right in the face.

The red haired boy was facing mixed feelings. 

He didn't like feeling all that much. However, he's been feeling lots of things since Tyler came around. Sure, maybe he didn't show his feelings and only really expressed himself when he was angry at someone or something (mostly because of anger issues), but he has been suppressing every other feeling. It wasn't like he wasn't acting happy or anything, no, that wasn't the case, he was happy and he showed that, it was more of anything else that he didn't show. If something hurt him, emotionally, he wouldn't say it.

He wasn't one to show feeling like this, and the last time he did, the last time he really did, was when Dallon died. He hasn't shown anything like that since. He doesn't think he will.

What made him upset, was that Tyler was making him feel things like this again. When Josh and Debby broke up, it was a mutual agreement, it was sad, but they knew they needed to do it. Josh was a mess when Dallon didn't make it. Debby knew he couldn't deal with a relationship because he stopped feeling, and as much as it hurt them both, Josh knew it too. Josh was devastated, but he knew Debby was right. 

Everything was too much for Josh, and a relationship wasn't the best thing for him at that time. Josh still loved her, and she still loved Josh. But, the red haired girl respected Josh, and ended it for his sake. Now, they were still on great terms. They had to be. A promise was made when they started dating, and it will continue to thrive. It was to never leave, no matter what happened. They may have broken up, but they will be there for each other. Always.

After the mutual breakup and Dallon, all feelings like that shut down. Almost like a switch. No, he wasn't broken, he just stopped feeling. Or, maybe he was just pushing all feelings aside. Most certainly, he didn't like that Tyler was bringing back up these feelings without even trying.

Josh hates it. 

Now, someone was trying to take that away from Josh. Brendon knows that, yet he's still doing this. However, never told Tyler that he liked him, so maybe, he was never going to. What's the point of liking someone of you aren't going to make a move? Relief slightly filled the older boy when he heard Tyler said he didn't like him back. Truly, he wanted to know if Tyler didn't like Brendon because he had feelings for someone else. Who would he have feelings for?

Subconsciously, Josh began brushing his teeth. He barely realized what he was doing until the icy water touched his large hands. He always tried to do things that involved cleaning when he was upset, mostly because he felt dirty. He sometimes took obsessive showers because he felt he did something wrong. He had obsessive compulsive disorder that only really got noticeable when he was upset. 

After three minutes of the water running and teeth scrubbing, Josh decided he was done. Swiftly, he exited the bathroom and approached Tyler and Scarlett. He tried to pretend like he didn't notice how the conversation dialed down as he came closer to the pair.

"Joshie, a-are you all right? You l-look upset." The brunette nervously babbled, worrying about Josh's health and wondering if he heard them speaking.

Shrugging, Josh answered. "I guess. More importantly, are you alright? Does your head hurt still?"

Tyler still didn't look well. The bloodied bandage wrapped around his head most certainly didn't help, either. Dark clouds fell under his eyes, making him look just as tired as he was. Usual blinking patterns were slightly abnormal for him, likely because his eyes wanted more sleep, despite the 3 days of sleep they had already been rewarded. 

Perhaps it was the pills that were making him tired. Josh had given Tyler an additional pill that was disintegrated in his chocolate milk. It was supposed to work pretty fast, and it seemed like it was. According to the nurse, Tyler should be in a lot more pain than he was at the moment. Either that, or he just wasn't showing it. The red haired boy hoped it wasn't the latter.

"Yeah, it's just-just my head. Am I a-allowed to take anyt-thing else for it?" Stuttered Tyler.

"I think so. I'll go look." Josh walked back into the bathroom to see if Tyler was allowed to take anything more for his head. Once he found the information he was hoping for, Josh grabbed a different type of pain reducer. "You still have chocolate milk?"

Looking down, Tyler nodded once spotting the brown chocolatey goodness. Josh handed him the desired pills, and Tyler quickly gulped them down, muttering a soft 'Thank you'.

"Do you wanna lay down, Ty? I can leave if you wanna sleep." Scarlett offered, wanted Tyler to be as comfortable as possible, considering the state he was in.

"I don't want y-you to leave, but I wanna s-sleep." Tyler mumbled.

"You can call me when you feel better. You aren't in a good state to talk and do things. Sleep. You need it."

"B-but I wanna paint my nails." Josh looked up when he said that, clearly not excepting the response to come from the boy. Not that he was going to judge, however.

"Later." She grinned. "If you feel better, that is." She quickly added. "Okay?"

"Okay."

Scarlett helped Tyler lay down, gently placing his head from off of her lap, instead placing a pillow there. It would be lie if Josh wasn't a bit jealous that Tyler was laying on her, and as much as he loved Scarlett, he felt slightly relieved that he could have some one on one time with Tyler. 

Maybe this is what he needed. Hopefully, Tyler could make him feel better because he felt really bitter towards Brendon. Tyler always made him feel better, though, so he knew he'd be alright.

Brown eyes were closed peacefully, light freckles dusting his rosy cheeks. The brunette looked peaceful as his chest moved up and down slowly. He wasn't sleeping yet, more so resting his eyes. Hazel eyes stared at the boy longingly, wanting to just snap a picture of such a beautiful moment. 

No effort was made into Tyler's appearance, yet he still managed to look stunning. Josh frowned at it, soon enough. Brendon was trying to take this away from him. He couldn't let that happen.

"Ty?" Josh whispered, crouching down to him, not wanted to startle the peaceful boy.

"Mhm?" He hummed, opening up his eyes slowly, with a sloppy grin on his face.

Chuckling, Josh spoke, "You wanna lay with me in your room? I can play with you hair. I know it soothes you."

Happily, Tyler nodded. "Please." The younger boy held his arms out, signaling he wanted to be picked up. 

Josh picked him up easily, seeing as he was strong, and Tyler didn't weigh much. Pink made its way onto Josh's cheeks as the smaller boy snuggled into his neck.

"You're awfully cuddly today." Noted Josh.

"S-sorry." Tyler moved his head, only for Josh stop him in the process.

"I never said it was a bad thing, angel."

Ah, there it was. The number one thing to make Tyler blush. The stupid nicknames Josh randomly threw at him. It always made him blush and as much as Tyler loved when Josh called him that, he hated it. It only affected Tyler when Josh called him these names.

Red made its way onto his cheeks, as he quickly cuddled into Josh's neck as an attempt to conceal the blush. "I'm a-always cuddly. I just s-show it more when I don't feel g-good." Tyler murmured. 

"I'll always give you cuddles. I love cuddles. Don't conceal the cuddles." Josh implored, making Tyler giggle.

"That's gay." 

"You're half gay." Josh stated, although it sounded more like question if anything.

"Yes, as a-are you."

Instead of a response, Josh laid Tyler down gently onto the bed, helping him under the covers. 

"Go to sleep."

"It's hot." Tyler whined. 

"Obviously. You're in the room."

A bright blush crept onto Tyler's face, as he quickly covered it with his hands. "Joooossssshhhhh." Tyler groaned. 

"Take your shirt off if you're hot, love." 

"Kay'." Carefully he removed his shirt, placing the covers over his exposed skin before Josh could get a good look. 

Deciding to follow Tyler's footsteps, Josh took off his shirt as well, smiling as Tyler made grabby hands towards him.

Tyler moved closer to Josh, placing his head onto Josh's chest. The younger boy's head was cuddled into his neck again, and Josh quickly slid his arm under Tyler's torso, pulling him closer. Pale fingers rubbed soothingly onto Tyler's head and tickled lightly on his back. It was a wonderful feeling.

 

About two hours later, did the group come back in. Patrick had a spare key, and they opened the door, only to see no one in the room. Ashley suggested to look in their rooms, and after knocking in both and hearing no reply, they opened the door to Tyler's room, and Patrick chuckled when he saw the two boys cuddled into each other. 

The teens were completely melted onto each other, and it was a cute sight. Tylers arm was draped around Josh's neck, and was cuddled into his neck, still. It was truly adorable.

"Josh," Debby lightly woke him, making him slightly startled.

"Don't wake him up." Whispered Josh.

"We've got good news." Melanie smiled.

"Professor X wanted to give you both something." Scarlett smiled.

"What?" He questioned, rubbing his eyes.

Brendon handed Josh a large box, that had something moving in it. Seconds later he opened it, jumping in surprise as the object in the box sprang out onto him. Tyler groaned from the movements, wiping his tired eyes and opening them to see an adorable creature. 

"Oh my gosh!" Tyler squealed, smiling at the small animal. "What are we g-going to name it, J-Joshie?"

Ashley grabbed Melanie's arm as a reflex, smiling at the nickname Tyler gave Josh. "This is so cute." She muttered to Melanie, who nodded in agreement.

Josh shrugged. "I dunno. Let's wait and then we can choose later."

"Okay."

"Professor X wanted us to have this?"

"He said it was an apology gift for Tyler, and a thank you gift to you, for taking care of Tyler." Jenna explained.

"Alright." He nodded. Tyler placed the kitten into his lap, petting it gently, a smile fixated onto his pink lips.

"Anything else h-happened? Are they going to do anything else ab-bout it?"

"I'm not to sure." Brendon announced. "Likely, they'll try to figure out more information and then try to figure everything out. Try not to worry much about it though, you'll be safe as long as you're with one of us." Brendon explained.

"I know. The reason I got hurt was because me and Josh split up."

Josh frowned as Jenna replied to him. "We'll, we know now that Tyler shouldn't go anywhere without one of us if we want him to be safe."

"Speaking of that, can I talk to you Brendon?"

Tyler's eyes widened as he shared a nervous glance with Scarlett. Had he heard what they were talking about? The blonde haired girl's stomach nerves slightly increased as the two boys walked out of the room.

"Did he hear?" Scarlett mouthed to the younger boy. Instead of a reply, he simply shrugged, running a hair through his brown locks. 

"Gosh," Tyler muttered, placing the kitten into Debby's hands, whilst grabbing Scarlett's arm. They slowly approached Josh's room, as they heard the boys talking. 

"You know what's up, right?" Josh asked, already sounding slightly annoyed. This wasn't going to end well.

Another a glance was exchanged with the brown eyed boy and the blue eyed girl, who then intertwined their fingers, giving them a reassuring squeeze. Tyler's nerves eased a bit at the gesture. 

"No. Should I?" Brendon's furrowed eyebrows allowed Josh to know he was clueless.

The fact that the door was closed made Tyler's nerves become a bit more prominent. He wanted to know what was going on. Scarlett moved her thumb against his hand softly, which most certainly relaxed him.

"Tyler knows you like him." Rather abruptly, Josh stated. Biting his lip, the brunette tried not to gasp. Why would Josh out him out like that?

"What? How do you know that? He told you?" Anger could be heard in Brendon's usually soothing voice.

"He reads minds, remember. And no, he was talking to Scar. I overheard them." The pair frowned, looking at each other with regret. It was a mistake to have said it with Josh so close in the room. Of course he had heard.

"You can't get mad at me, Josh. I didn't even do anything." The dark haired boy argued. 

"I know, but you know I am." Josh frowned, along with Tyler and Scarlett.

"Damn it," Blue eyes locked with Tyler's brown ones, and he could tell she was stressed. "We should let them talk this through. If you hear anything crazy going through Brendon's head, we'll go in and break them up."

As much as Tyler wanted to protest, he knew Scarlett was completely right. It would be rude to intrude and listen to something that didn't invoke him (although, technically it did). Tyler wasn't invited into the conversation, therefore he shouldn't eavesdrop. 

"What's going on?" Eyebrows furrowed, Melanie interrogated.

Weakly, Tyler shrugged. "It's not my p-place to say," He sighed.

"Josh and Brendon are likely going to get in a argument." She summed up, making everyone slightly gain an understanding about the situation.

The protectiveness Tyler felt for Josh when she mentioned Josh being in a possible argument. Even though there was a possible chance it wouldn't happen, Tyler still had a feeling. Unfortunately, Tyler was usually right when he got these sort of feelings.

"Again?" Debby complained, making Tyler's smile falter. Did this happen a lot? "About what?"

"Tyler." Scarlett confirmed, making the group look at the boy.

"Oh m-my good-goodness." Tyler mumbled, just now remembering that Scarlett's hand was intertwined with his when he gave it a squeeze.

"I'm sure everything will be fine. Don't stress yourself out, Ty." Patrick voiced, hoping to make ye situation, in the slightest, better.

"It's a l-l-little too late for that." Nervously, Tyler chuckled.

"Here," Jenna handed Tyler the small kitten, in hopes of relaxing him a bit. She could tell by his speaking that he was getting more anxious by the second. 

Everyone in the group could tell that Tyler had really bad anxiety, and that almost anything triggered it, so they were always watching out for him, even when Tyler didn't realize.

The tiny animal began purring against the sixteen year old's chest, making Tyler grin slightly. "Aw," Tyler giggled, already showing a sign of relaxation. He started humming softly, which made Ashley snap her head up. His voice was making the kitten calm and happy. Was his voicing trancing as well? She smiled at him.

"Do you have a secret power you aren't telling us about?" Ashley inquired, making Tyler look up, confused.

"No?" He responded, sounding more like he was asking a question instead of answering it.

"I'm pretty sure you have a power similar to mine. It's not as strong as mine, because if I hum everyone in here will get tranced, rather than just the kitten, but-but it's definitely there." Ashley wasn't flattering herself or anything, just simply stated true facts. Anyhow, Tyler wasn't going to get offended.

"You think?" He smiled softly at the furry animal lying on his lap.

"Yeah. I wonder if you were to sing out, if you could trance people as well?"

"Probably not." Shaking his head, Tyler replied.

"Try it." Decided Melanie.

Debby watched intently, quite curious as to if Tyler was able to perform the ability. Patrick quietly studied to the brunette, smiling at him reassuringly, subconsciously.

"On the corner of main street, just trying to keep it in line, you say you wanna move on and you say I'm falling behind, can you read my mind?" 

Tyler sang quietly, but loud enough for everyone to hear him. His voice was a soft and full of cracks, yet he sounded so incredible and scared. Of course his voice wasn't as nearly as powerful as Ashley's, but he definitely had some of the power, as it calmed everyone down. His lisp was still showing, and it made the rawness of his voice better. He was lucky enough to be able to control his stutter when singing, after months of practice. 

"Tyler!" Melanie squeaked, smiling widely, allowing her adorable gap teeth to be visible. "You didn't tell me you could sing!"

"I didn't r-really think I c-could."

"You voice is so soothing." Jenna spoke, smiling at the brown eyed boy.

"It's not as strong as Ash's, because that's her main power, but it's definitely calming, so I guess you can add that to your list of powers." Patrick chuckled.

Brendon was thinking bad, and Tyler's eyes widened. This was bad. "Guys! They're about to fight!" No one noticed the yelling or felt the aroma of anger, as the group was still coming down from the high Tyler's voices called.

The friends sprang up, Scarlett grabbing Tyler's arm and practically dragging him towards Josh's room. Tyler's slightly shaking my hands reached for the knob, but found no luck. The door was locked, of course.

"At least I have a shot with him!" Brendon snarled, making Tyler gasp.

"Gosh!" Tyler groaned. "Guys open up! I need to come in!" Tyler banged on the door loudly, and seconds the door sprang open, only because Tyler used his mind to open it. "Stop!"

Everything was in slow motion, and Josh was so close to hitting Brendon. Fiery red hands were close to Brendon's body, but Tyler stopped both of them from moving. The power radiating from Josh was extremely strong and wasn't just going to stop when Tyler prevented his body from moving. No, instead it would stay there until it was able to be released. Anger filled throughout the red haired boy's body and he wasn't going down without a fight.

"Tyler no!" Jenna yelled, hoping to make the not do what he desired to do.

Without thinking, Tyler pushed Josh against the wall, allowing his skin to touch the burning hot skin that consisted of Josh. Of course it hurt. Josh's blood pumped like lava when he was angry, which made his skin and body heat up, which also hurt him in the process.

Let's just say, angry Josh wasn't a Josh you wanted to face.

"Fuck!" Tyler whimpered, immediately facing a burning sensation on his hands. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" He cried, losing his focus and allowing Josh and Brendon to have control of their bodies.

"Tyler are you okay?" Brendon asked, concerned, brown eyes meeting the teary ones that belonged to Tyler.

"Ty, oh my gosh," Josh stepped away from him, feeling sick to his stomach. He had never intended to hurt Tyler, but he couldn't control his anger, and Tyler touched him. 

"Someone get him ice!" Scarlett panicked, running into the bathroom to get neosporin for his hands as Debby ran into the kitchen to get the boy ice.

"Oh my g-gosh, this hurts s-s-so bad." He wailed, shaking his hands up and down in attempt to cool them down. Tears flew down his freckled cheeks at the burning sensation.

Likely, it wouldn't leave burn marks or scars, maybe just red marks with a little bit of pain for the next few days. His hands weren't on Josh long enough for it to burn him to bad, but it most certainly hurt him.

"Tyler, I'm sorry," Josh stuttered out, hands shaking as his legs felt weak underneath him.

He didn't mean to hurt Tyler, he really didn't. His stomach hurt at the thought of it, and now that he had done it made him feel like he was going to throw up. The look of pain that he inflicted onto Tyler's face made his heart ache. His breathing was becoming uneven and Tyler stared at him.

"When you c-cool down, p-please hug me." He whispered, looking into the red eyes that Josh owner with his own pleading ones.

"Of course," Josh needed to drink cold water. It would help him cool faster. "Get me water, Mel."

Melanie nodded, already knowing the routine. She had done this for Josh multiple times, as she was good at calming him down. Maybe Tyler would be able to do that soon.

"Ty, here," Debby placed a bowl of ice cold water on the group where Tyler was sitting next to Josh. His injured hands were placed into the ice cold bowl, and Tyler sighed in relief. 

Melanie's multi colored hair came into view, and Josh quickly grabbed the icy water, gulping down the beverage like there was no tomorrow. Ignoring the slight discomfort he felt at all the coldness filling throughout his body, he finished the drink, feeling his body temperature cool down drastically. The brunette gave Josh a pleading look, almost asking for permission for Josh to hold him with his eyes. Red eyes met Tyler's brown ones, and he nodded.

The sixteen year old climbed on top of the older boy, wrapping his arms around Josh and holding them there, tightly. "I'm so sorry, Angel." Josh mumbled against his neck, rubbing his hand against his back and tangling one into his brown curly hair.

"Y-you didn't d-do anyt-thing." Tyler spoke quickly, making sure Josh knew he wasn't at fault.

"I'm so so sorry. You didn't deserve that."

"Neither d-did Brendon, but that wasn't s-stopping you. I'm glad it was me. I deserve it m-more than he does. He was-sn't going to do anything. It was my fault for all-lowing you to h-hear it. 

"I need to control my anger," Josh sighed, feeling awful about the whole situation.

"They h-hurt so bad," Tyler croaked, burying his head into Josh's neck. 

"It's gonna be Alright, baby." Josh allowed the nickname to slip before he could even think, and Tyler felt slightly happier at the name.

"I-I like that one." Josh chuckled wholeheartedly, smiling at the younger boy.

"Okay, I'll remember that. Can you turn around for me? Let me but the neosporin on your hands." Tyler turned, allowing Josh to rub the soothing cream onto his red hands. After a bit it started to feel better. 

Later on that night, Tyler's hands were wrapped in bandages and covered in the clear ointment. Everyone had left after Tyler's hands got burned. The curly haired boy made Josh and Brendon made up with each other, of course. 

Tyler had asked to stay in Josh's room that night, which Josh was obviously okay with, as he had no reason not to be. The two boys fell asleep to Tyler's soft singing and Josh's soothing back tickling. Tyler was safe now, and that was all that mattered.

Always.


	9. group twentyøne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look out for foreshadowing ooo
> 
> okay radioactive by imagine dragons, goes w this chapter really well

This chapter is truly the beginning of the book. Look out for some foreshadowing!

Start the song. It's Radioactive by Imagine Dragons.

 

Tyler rubbed his eyes as he woke. The room was dark and his hands and head hurt. Surely the neosporin has worn off by now.  Even though it his hands were sore, the younger boy was playing with the red curly hair on Josh's head. Subconsciously, Tyler hummed the tune of a song he had written. Although Tyler was unaware, Josh was awake. His red eyes were closed and the soothing fingers that belonged to Tyler ran through his hair.

It wasn't long until Josh spoke to Tyler, startling him slightly. "Hi." He whispered, smiling at the brown eyed boy.

A beautiful blush appeared on the younger boy's cheeks as he made eye contact with red eyed boy. "S-sorry," he spoke sheepishly, burying his face into the pillow. "Didn't know y-you were awake."

 

"Keep doing it, angel." Josh mumbled, dismissing Tyler's worries, whilst pulling Tyler's hand back onto the red curly mop on his head. Tyler smiled at the action.

This moment was pure and was blissful. Tyler was content and Josh was as well. The breathing patterns of each other soothed them as they closed their eyes gradually. Because Josh's arm was still draped over Tyler from last night, he began tickling the younger boy in hopes to calm him more. 

 

A smile graced the brunette's beautiful face, and Josh's eyes just so happened to be open. Josh wasn't really tired, more of just relaxed. That was usually why he fell asleep when he was cuddling with Tyler. Simply, it was relaxing. Deciding to keep his eyes open, just to see Tyler's sublime face was a good choice.

 

It was obvious that Tyler was asleep when he stopped combing his fingers through Josh's hair. Slowly detangling himself from Tyler, Josh chuckled as he got up. The tan boy let out a small whine at the loss from the physical contact, nonetheless he continued to sleep which relieved Josh because he had things to do.  

 

Toned pale skin was meet with the slightly cold air that filled their dorm. Bare feet gently padded against the wooden floor of the house in an attempt to get to the kitchen quietly, as to not wake Tyler. Red curls collapsed onto Josh's face as he stared into the fridge trying to decide what to make for breakfast. Sure, Josh could go into the cafeteria and grab breakfast, which would be a much easier and simpler approach, but this was for Tyler. 

This was his way of apologizing, even though he had apologized more than enough times and Tyler forgave him more than enough as well. He decided to make pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hash browns. A shower seemed like a great wake up call, as it was only seven thirty-four. 

Being an early bird felt like a slight advantage, but he didn't know how long it would last. All of the basic ingredients were not available and Josh would have to request to have a few untouched eggs, and some potatoes, and surely a shredder. Maybe, he'd get cheese for the eggs too.

Clothes were soon peeled off of Josh's toned abdomen. His muscled thighs were removed from their thin coating of boxers moments before he stepped into the cold shower. Most people preferred warm showers simply because it felt nice, but due to Josh always being hot (in more ways than one) a cold shower was a great soother for his skin and stress. Shampoo created bright white swirls onto the red that belonged to Josh's hair, soon escaping the brightly colored locks and joining the cold clear water that was pouring down like a waterfall onto Josh's pale body. 

Once his usual 15 minute shower concluded, Josh rushed to brush his teeth and rub a towel through his hair in an attempt to make it slightly dryer than it was before. Gray consisted of his tee shirt whilst black consisted of the rest of his attire. Black converses concealed his feet, along with black colored socks as well. In order to save more time, the seventeen year old settled a cap on his head, likely to avoid doing his hair.

Grabbing his dorm key, he was quick to close the door and walk into the halls, slightly sprinting towards the elevators in hopes of getting into the cafeteria as fast as possible. When he stepped inside the elevator he quickly googled how to make hash browns, smiling when he saw that he would only two potatoes.

It wasn't long until he reached the large room filled with so many different foods. Although he felt slightly strange it ask the question, he walked up to a girl he saw quite frequently and politely greeted her. He recognized her as a girl from one of his classes, meaning she had to be 17. Her curly dark hair looked fabulous as it puffed all around her head. 

"Hi. I was wondering if you could help me out with something?" His hands reached for each other, fingers gently tapping against the pads of his others.

 

"Depends on what it is. What do you need help with?" She smiled, flashing her pearly whites. 

 

"I was wondering if I could have six eggs, three potatoes, and 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese from the kitchen?" His words were strange, but polite.

 

The girl furrowed her neatly plucked eyebrows. "I'll ask the kitchen staff for you, though I'm not sure if they will supply."

 

"I really need it. I'm making apology breakfast for my boyfr-I-I mean best friend. You see, I, uh, accidentally hurt his hands because he touched me when I was made in an attempt to calm me down and it just hurt him in the process and i still feel bad so I would quite like to make it for him."

 

Smiling, the girl nodded. Josh hoped that would work, simply because it was all true. "I'll try my best."

 

"Thanks."

 

Her brown hair flowed slightly as she walked away. Josh would remember to compliment her highlight, as it looked so nice and complemented her dark colored skin. All of her makeup looked flawless, and he considered asking her for help with Tyler, because she had the perfect winged eyeliner Tyler was always trying to achieve. 

About 3 minutes later did she come back out, a paper bag in her right hand whilst a smile graced her lips. "Here." She handed the bag to him, which he felt extremely grateful for.

 

"Can you ask you another favor, I think you'll actually like it this time." 

 

She tilted her head curiously. "So, my friend and roommate, Tyler-"

 

"Tyler Joseph, the boy who wears skirts?"

 

"Yeah! Anyway, I noticed you're really good at makeup and I was wondering if you could makeup come up to our dorm one day and teach him a few tricks? You have really good wings and Tyler always complains about his."

 

"Is Tyler also the one you're making this breakfast for?"

 

"Yeah." A blush sparked Josh's face as he nodded.

 

"Do you like him?"

 

"What?" Josh's eyes widened at the question. "Um, I, uh,"

 

"I'm just messing. I could already tell you liked him. I'll help him with his makeup, if he would like me to. What your number? Put it in my phone and I'll put mine is yours. Text me when he wants to meet up." She grinned. 

 

"Okay." 

 

A few seconds later, both numbers were placed into each other's phones and Josh realized he really had to get going.

 

"I'll let you make your breakfast for your future boyfriend, now. See you around, Josh." Even though she joked, Josh wished she was going to be right sometime soon.

 

"See you around, Nia."

 

Hurriedly, Josh went arrived back into his dorm to began the task of making food for a boy he was quite fond with.

Eggs were scrambled and sprinkled with cheese, potatoes were chopped and fried to a golden brown, pancakes were light and fluffy with chocolate chips scattered throughout them, and the oh, so delicious bacon was still sizzling from the frying pan. It was safe to say Josh had done a wonderful job with making breakfast, and Tyler had yet to wake up.

Deciding to make this look the very best possible, Josh carefully plated the food. Seconds later he was finished with that, and poured two glasses of orange juice. 

Possibilities were unkind, as all the ones that went wrong played throughout his mind. Almost like a movie. Josh set the plates across from each other on the marble island that was somewhat in their kitchen and somewhat not. Tabbng his fingers against his leg was a subconscious custom he had acquired. Usually, it never really affected anyone until his fingers made the loud, sharp, smacking noise no one longed to hear. He hoped this would go well.

Quiet footsteps could barely be heard as Josh arrived into the room the sleeping boy was in. Navy blue colored sheets did its job of hiding the boy, although it was possible to make out his small figure, which was in a curled up position. Light brown fluffy, curly, hair was stuck out in different directions as Tyler's small bandaged hands rested underneath the pillow his curly locks were on. It was a beautiful sight, really.

Pale hands reached over the bed to gently touch Tyler's small frame. Slightly pudgy thighs were on display as Josh slowly removed the covers from the boy.Whines, likely in protest as to what Josh was doing, could be heard from the sixteen year old. 

 

"Ty," The brunette didn't move, only protesting by groaning at him. "I made you breakfast." Josh's warm hands gently soothed Tyler has he moved them on his shoulders. "Please?"

 

"C-cold," Tyler stuttered out, making grabby hands at Josh. Josh scooped up the boy, already warming him up with his touch, as his body was always so warm. Tyler quietly laid on Josh's lap, not moving from the position Josh had put him in. When the drawers suddenly opened, Josh jumped out of surprise. But once he saw the long sleeved sweater appeared out of the first drawer and fall onto the bed near Tyler's hands, he knew it was Tyler's doing. 

 

"I forgot you could do that." He mumbled, grabbing the sweater, and helping Tyler put it on. He was about to get up, but Tyler shook his head.

 

"J-Just a l-little longer," He whispered, placing his head onto Josh's neck.

 

"Baby, your foods gonna get cold." Red displayed on his cheeks at the not so platonic nickname, and he nodded quickly, wanting to make Josh happy.

 

"C-carry me, please."

Instead of a reply Josh lifted the boy up and out of the room, soon placing him on one of the chairs that had food in front of it on the island.

"You' like it?"

"T-thank you, Joshie." A blush still appeared on his face as he started eating the food.

 

"I still feel really bad about hurting you, so I wanted to make you apology breakfast."

 

Tyler laughed at the term. "This is s-some pretty good apolog-gy breakfast." He bit into a slice of bacon before speaking again. "You shouldn't be sorry, I was the one who t-touched you."

 

"Angel, it doesn't matter how it happened. I still hurt you."

 

"It didn't even hurt that bad." Tyler muttered quietly, likely to himself.

 

"I've never heard you swear like that, and you cried. I know it hurt. I should be more careful when I'm angry. I'm so sorry I hurt you, Ty."

 

"Can we—can we change the subject? I d-don't wanna talk about this a-any-anymore." The smaller boy squeaked, subliminally pressing his legs together, due to agitation.

 

"I was talking to a girl earlier today who had really good makeup. She knows how to do wings and she said she'd help you."

 

Plump lips fell open as wide eyed stared at Josh. "Really?" He asked excitedly.

 

"Mhm. Her name is Nia. Let me know when you want me to call her, okay?"

 

"Okay." A knock interrupted their comfortable silence. 

"Are you guys up?" It was Jenna's voice. Tyler visibly looked happy at the sound of her voice, smiling as he hopped of the chair, his sock free feet padding against the wooden floor as he arrived at the door.

"Hi, Jen." 

 

"Morning. How are your hands?"

 

Tyler shrugged, looking at them for a second. "They d-d-don't hurt, sso good I guess. Wanna come in?"

 

She gratefully nodded. "Ashley and Patrick are with me. I just ran ahead because I wanted to make sure you guys were awake. Make sure you put neosporin on your hands, Ty." He nodded quickly, a small blush appeared on his face as he was told what to do.

"Tyler! How are you?!" Ashley's dark curly hair came into view as she stepped into the door frame. 

 

"Good! How ab-bout you?"

 

"Fine. I tried this different brand of green tea this morning and it tasted so aesthetic!"

"That's not how you use that term." Josh chuckled.

"I've been telling her that all morning." Patrick spoke, rolling his eyes at the wrong term Ashley user.

"Aesthetic means someone's personal pleasing. I think the green tea is delicious, therefore it is my pleasing." Ashley articulated, sipping on the iced beverage in her black plastic bottle, which had skulls decorated all over it. Tyler knew it was the green tea from what she was thinking.

"I guess." Jenna shrugged.

"Anyway," Patrick interrupted , grabbing the attention of both boys. Patrick's light colored eyes meeting with Josh's bright red ones. "There's an assembly today. It's at 1 o'clock and it's mandatory, so make sure you're there. They're doing attendance and said anyone who didn't come would face infractions."

"Okay. We'll be there."

"Alright. We have to tell the others. If we aren't there and you guys are, make sure to save a seat for us. We'll do the same."

"O-okay."

"Bye guys." Jenna grinned, closing the door rather abruptly.

Josh snuck a glance at Tyler, smiling lightly at the boy. "You finished?"

Tyler nodded instead of vocally replying. His small hands gripped the hem of the sweater he was wearing. He walked away from the kitchen area, pressing the on button for the TV as he walked in the living room. Comfortably, he sat on the couch, grabbing the TV remote to change the channel. Nothing good was on this early in the morning, so he eventually put netflix on and started searching for a good movie. 

"Joshie?"

Tyler's tone slightly worried Josh, causing him to rush into the room. "Are you alright?"

Quickly, Tyler nodded his head. "Didn't mean t-to worry you. Wanted' to k-know if you'd like to w-watch'ca movie with m-me?"

"Of course. What movie?"

"I've b-b-been told the boy in the striped paj-jamas is g-good."

"Let me finish cleaning up and then we'll start the movie. Is that alright with you, sweetheart?"

The smaller boy nodded, a blush in his face as the seventeen year old walked away. A slight groan could be heard from Tyler, making Josh quietly laugh to himself. Once Joshua had finished cleaning up, he had went into the living room, sitting on very right of couch. 

Tyler smiled as he asked a question. "Can I lay d-down with you?"

A slight blush appeared on Josh's face at the question, but he nodded quickly. "Of course. Get up off the couch so I can lay down and you can lay on top of me."

Tyler's sweater was hanging off of his shoulder as he climbed off of the couch. After Josh had laid down, Tyler had climbed back onto him, situating his legs on either side of Josh's legs, while his head rested in the crook of the red headed seventeen year old. 

"Start' the movie?" Josh had hummed instead of replying with words. His hands had already made their way into Tyler's hair and under Tyler's sweater, to tickle his back likely. 

It wasn't until later when they started getting ready for the assembly. Tyler was still tearing up at the ending of the movie, causing him to groan in frustration whenever his makeup got smeared. 12:30 was the time, and Tyler was still trying to put on makeup. Dark, almost maroon like eyeshadow was layered on his eyes, and a slightly lighter color was fixated on the bottom of his eyes on his lower lash line. Mascara coated his long eyelashes and dark lipstick matched his eye makeup. Highlight was what Tyler was applying.

Josh watched in amazement. He always thought it was so cool of Tyler to go against gender roles and wear and do what he wanted even if it was considered feminine. White and gold highlights were applied to Tyler's cheek bones, his cupid's bow, under the arch of his eyebrow, and the bridge and tip of his nose. Josh thought Tyler looked really hot, if he was being honest. 

"I like your makeup today. It's very pretty."

"T-thanks."

The assembly room was quiet even though there were so many people in it. Jenna, Debby, Brendon, Ashley, Josh, Gerard, Melanie, Luke, Patrick, Pete, Scarlett, Tyler, and Calum all sat near each other. Occasional whispers fell from their mouths, although majority of the time it was silent. 

As more people walked into the room, the more nervous Tyler got. Everyone was staring at his bandaged head and hands. Blood was lightly seeping through the gauze, and people stared at him directly. The nervous tapping his finger was doing on his thigh, lead Josh to believe Tyler was nervous. Nearly instinctively, Josh had grabbed Tyler's hand, not saying anything. He rubbed soothing circles with his thumb onto Tyler's knuckles, which calmed him, but only slightly. No one seemed to notice the brunette's shakiness, which could be considered a good thing to a certain measure. 

Throbbing was the only way to describe Tyler's head. He wasn't sure if it was from nerves or from pain, likely it was both. People were beginning to look like blurry messes, and the walls suddenly started getting closer to him. But, everyone looked fine. How could anyone look fine when the walls were closing in and people looked like scribbles. Breathing was becoming a challenge. Had someone lowered the oxygen levels in the room? Surely Tyler couldn't be the only one feeling this. The room was spinning. Eyes closed. The spinning didn't stop. The pain didn't, either. 

"Baby, are you alright?" Normally, Tyler would blush at the name, but he wasn't exactly thinking straight at the moment. 

Tyler shook his head. Everything was spinning, now. A voice interrupted both of them. It distracted him slightly, which always was a good thing. The voice, both Tyler and Josh recognize as Charles, began speaking. His words were gibberish, but Tyler tried to listen.

"We've recently faced a great dilemma. I'm sure all of you heard about the explosion that took place only a few days ago. You all know that students were hurt during it, correct? We are taking care of it. No one is to worry about it, understood? We've been trying to figure out if it would be best for our students to go home, until we could assure everyone's safety."  Many students gasped at Charles' words. 

Tyler screwed his eyes shut again. He let out a gasp, clearly after everyone else, drawing the attention of a few people nearby. Josh knew what was happening before Tyler could say anything. "Come here, Ty." The younger boy crawled into Josh's lap. "You're safe, baby. Don't worry. I got you." He whispered. People stared at them, but Tyler didn't notice and Josh didn't care. Tyler was the priority, not them. Josh wiped his tear stains.

"However, after further consideration, we have decided that because your education is important to all of us, we want to make sure you continue your schooling here. We are not going to send you home. We are going to solve this problem and make sure you all get the proper education you all deserve. We mustn't allow this to affect us all. We are going to  pursue our education and continue to strive to the greatness you all achieve daily. I am sick and tired of these events effect you guys. I will not let this happen to us again."

 

The crowd erupted into cheers. Tyler wasn't clapping, however. He still felt awful, and his heart was beating faster at the loud sounds. Charles was thinking of the friend group. Why was Charles thinking about them? Josh continued to play with his hair, and didn't clap.

"C-Charles is t-thinking of e-everyone." Tyler muttered, catching the attention of Josh.

"What?" He questioned.

"He w-wants t-to talk to u-us all."

Melanie was sitting next to him and stared at him before asking him a question. "Who is 'all?'"

"Me, You, J-Josh, Ashley, Jenna, Patrick, Pete, Cal, S-S-Scarlett, Debby, Brendon, Luke, and Gerard. There's more, but I don't k-know them."

"I'm sure it's nothing bad." Melanie reassured.

"Ty, do you wanna leave? You don't look too good." Josh stood up. The younger boy nodded, making grabby hands to the red head. "Carry you?" He inquired.

"Yes." Tyler wrapped his arms around Josh's neck as his legs wrapped around Josh's waist. His curly light brown hair tickled Josh's neck as he buried his face into it. "They're staring." He whispered, causing Josh to look up, meeting the eyes of the many students that were, indeed, staring.

"Let them. They're jealous that I get to hold someone so adorable." He concluded.

Instinctively, Tyler pushed his head more into Josh's neck, trying to conceal the blush on his face. "Joshhh," Tyler whined, making him chuckle.

It was obvious that Tyler was physically and mentally calming down, although Josh could still feel the shakiness in Tyler's hands and hear the shakiness in his voice. The deep breathes the brown eyed boy was taking seemed to relax him more. 

"Tyler Joseph, Joshua Dun," A man with dark brown hair and light colored eyes came running up to them. Turning around, Josh made sure Tyler was able to see the man anymore. His uniform allowed Josh to know he worked at the academy. "Professor X would like to see you. He's also got a few of your friends, from what I've been told."

The grip Josh had on the sixteen year old had subliminally gotten tighter. Curiously, Tyler raised his head, glancing back at the worker.

"Okay. We'll be on our way. Thanks." 

Josh began walking towards the office that had belonged to Professor X. Tyler seemed to still be relaxed, which made Josh at ease. Although, he was nervous to go into Charles' office.

Maroon colored walls contrasted well with the golden colored curtains that concealed the windows. Wood, almost an auburn color, was centered neatly near the back of the room. Plants of different types, likely for decor, cascaded the room. Blue, green, and all sorts of colored books filled the bookshelf on the right side of the room. Chairs were placed accordingly around the room, mostly near the desk area. No one besides Charles, Tyler, and Josh were in organized office. It wasn't until a look of confusion was placed onto Charles' face that Josh realized he was still carrying Tyler. 

"Good Afternoon Professor."Josh squeaked, already feeling like he embarrassed them both greatly. 

 

"Afternoon. Is he alright? Should I call a nurse?" Charles seemed worried, which Josh was grateful for. He would much rather his professor worry about his the boy cuddled into him than yell at him for it.

 

"He was having a panic attack a bit earlier. I think he's better now." 

 

Charles nodded. Josh was about to place Tyler into a chair, but Charles spoke before he could. "If he wants to sit with you, that's quite alright. I don't see any problem with it because it helps him feel safer."

 

Josh was about to question him and ask how he knew that, but then remembered he could read minds. "Thanks." Josh turned him around, so that his back was to his chest and Tyler was facing Professor X as well. Tyler opened his eyes and saw Charles. 

 

"Hi Professor." 

 

"Hello, Tyler. Are you feeling any better? Would you like water?"

"A little bit better. And I'm fine, thank you." 

 

Debby, Brendon, Calum, Jenna, Gerard, Melanie, Scarlett, Pete, Ashley, Luke, and Patrick all entered the room. 

 

"Hello, boys and girls. I'm sure you're wondering why I've requested to have you attend my office. All of you sit down. I'd like to ask of you a favor."

 

Everyone exchanged nervous glances. Tyler and Josh's hands were intertwined, mostly because they were both concerned as to what was about to unfold. Scarlet and Calum, Melanie and Ashley, and Pete and Patrick had their hands locked as well. 

 

"What is it, Professor?" Luke questioned, asking what everyone was wondering.

 

"As you all know, we were attacked. Tyler got hurt. I'm sure you're all aware of this. I'm also sure you all know who did it. Tyler, if I am correct you are aware that you were likely the target of this attack, correct?"

 

"Yeah." Tyler mumbled, frowning.

 

"They want his powers, the want all of your powers. Now, I'm not sure if you all know the capability all of you possess. All of you have extremely strong capabilities and I want to put them to use. What I am asking is if you would all be willing to work together and help me defeat them yet again." Everyone's eyes widened. Charles started answering the questions he heard the group's mind. "It's almost like a team. I've chosen you guys and few other, which you'll meet if you agree to this, to join this team. I've went through everyone's files and have carefully chosen them. You all will be fighting them eventually. I don't know when, and I cannot guarantee safety. If you all agree to this, you are agreeing to the chance of being injured. Who is going to join my team?"

 

"I will." Scarlett answered first, making everyone's eyes direct to her. 

 

"Lovely. Who else?"

 

Melanie and Ashley exchanged glances before nodding. "We will." They both spoke at the same time.

 

"I'll do it." Calum agreed.

 

"Me too." Pete spoke, making Patrick's eyes widened.

 

"I do it, too." Josh spoke, making Tyler tighten his grip on his hand.

 

"So will I." Patrick slightly frowned as he spoke, he was just a tad worried.

 

"Count me in." Gerard smiled.

 

"Same as well." Brendon spoke, smiling.

 

"Me too." Luke nodded.

 

"I'm in." Debby confirmed, bring a smile onto Charles' lips.

 

"Why the hell not." Jenna shrugged, smiling as Charles chuckled. "What about Tyler?" Everyone looked at him, and his hands started to get clammy. He didn't like attention. Why did Jenna have to say his name?

"We're trying to protect him. Why would we put him in more risk?" Brendon frowned.

 

"Oh. I guess you're right." Jenna sighed.

 

"W-wait, what? I t-thought I was part o-of this too."

 

"Tyler, we're trying to protect you." Charles spoke calmly.

 

"N-no. I'm not m-making anyone risk their l-life for me."

 

"Don't worry, Tyler. It's for everybody. This is fining to keep you and everyone in this school safe." Charles concluded.

 

"I'm d-doing it with t-them." Tyler sat up, no longer holding Josh's hand and leaning against him.

 

"No you're not." Josh protested.

 

"Tyler, that wouldn't be the best-" Charles began.

 

"Let me in or I'll l-leave the school."

 

"Tyler, you can't-"

 

"I can and I-I will." Tyler interrupted, again, but this time it was Josh.

 

"Tyler please consider-"

 

"Charles. I'm in t-this team. You know w-what I'm capable of. Would it really be smart to make me mad?"

 

"Fine. I'll let you join." Charles agreed reluctantly, making Tyler smile.

 

"Nice doing b-business with you." He grinned.

 

"What else do we need to know?" Concerned, Melanie asked.

 

"You all have to understand the risks you are taking. Especially you, Tyler. You all face the risk of getting hurt when out to fight, and you all have to understand the importance of that. All of your classes are going to be cut short because of the training you will all receive. You will be exceeded from the work you are not present for. You are all also going to receive certain uniforms, that you will have to wear when you're fighting because they will provide protection. All of this will start on Monday, so be prepared."

 

"This is a stupid question, but are we going to have name that we call the group?" Ashley inquired.

 

"That's not stupid at all. I've thought about it, but I haven't been able to choose anything."

 

"How many people are in this?" Josh asked.

 

"Twent-wait because Tyler is now in this, twenty one."

 

"What if we call ourselves group twenty one? G21 for short." Debby suggested.

 

"That's so good!" Jenna praised.

 

"Alright then. I'll have to get it sewed into your uniforms."

 

"This is so cool." Tyler mumbled, making Josh chuckled. 

 

"Anything else we should know?" Calum asked, sitting up straight.

 

"People are leaving X-men to join them. We have to try to eliminate everyone who is a part of that group before it's too late." Josh nodded. Jenna shifted uncomfortably at the thought. 

 

"Is that all?"

 

"That's all. You're dismissed." Charles spoke, a smile playing on his thin lips. Everyone began getting up but, just before anyone could leave, Charles spoke again. "Hey, guys?" Everyone turned. "Welcome to group twenty one."


	10. burns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> team by lorde

"This is so exciting!" Ashley exclaimed, smiling at her group of friends.

 

"This is so terrifying." Patrick argued, hands running through red locks in distress whilst his eyebrows furrowed.

 

"I mean, I guess it's both." Calum comprised, shrugging his shoulders.

 

"Yeah." Scarlett nodded, swinging Calum's hands with hers.

"You're just saying that because he's your boyfriend." Luke rolled his eyes at the same time Calum did.

 

"You're just saying that because you're not." Melanie scoffed with an eye roll, making everyone begin out laughing. Luke chuckled, although he knew it was right.

 

"I'm excited for training. I wonder if they'll help me increase how powerful I am." Pete optimistically spoke. 

 

"I'm gonna take Tyler back to our dorm. He's sleepy." Josh calmly laced their fingers together, and Tyler blushed.

 

"He didn't say he was sleepy." Jenna pointed out, slightly upset that people were leaving when they were all likely going to get food.

 

"I can tell he is. You are tired, right sweetheart?"

 

Pink hues rose onto his cheeks, as he nodded. "Yes." Tyler heard what Jenna was thinking and smiled. "We sh-should all have dinner t-together, an' watch a movie or s-something to celebrate."

 

Everyone hummed in agreement. "Who's dorm?" Debby questioned, looking up at Tyler.

 

"Ours?" Josh asked, looking at the brunette and grinning.

 

"Sure." He shrugged.

 

"Okay. Our place, seven thirty-ish. I'll order pizza." Josh planned. 

 

"Alright." The friends nodded.

 

"Cool. See you." Brendon spoke, offering a slight wave to the duo as they were walking away.

 

"Bye." Josh smiled, turning away, likely starting the walk towards their dorm. Tyler followed soon after, smiling to himself about having some more time with Josh alone.

Before Tyler could register what was happening, Josh went behind him and scooped the smaller boy in his arms, making Tyler giggle and wrapped his arms around Josh's neck. 

"Is my g-glow still good?" Tyler questioned, moving his face right and left to show Josh the glow on his cheekbones.

 

Josh, however, was baffled by the simple question, clearly not understanding what the sixteen year old was asking him. "What?"

 

"My highl-light?" Tyler elaborated, grinning, slightly displaying the adorable uneven teeth he had on his bottom row that Josh was oh, so fond with.

 

"The hell is that? I thought it was a bright yellow marker that we used in english?" He questioned confusedly.  

 

Tyler giggled as Josh continued to walk with him in his arms.  Tyler turned to the left, no longer facing Josh. "Do you see it now?"

 

Eyebrows furrowed as red eyes scanned the left side of Tyler's face. "The shiny stuff?" 

 

Tyler stifled a laugh at the older boy. "Yeah. Is is still s-shiny?"

 

"Mhm." 

 

"Cool."

The walk back remained silent. Tiredness was slowly taking over Tyler. He rested his head in the crook of Josh's neck as he walked. He was close to falling asleep.

"Not just yet," The older boy whispered, inferring that Tyler was close to unconsciousness. Frowning slightly, Tyler kept his eyes closed. 

 

"I'm tired," Whined Tyler, eyes opening as he complained.

 

"Just a minute, baby." Josh turned, Tyler now seeing that their dorm was close.

 

"Stop callin' me t-that," Tyler giggled, covering his blushing face with his bandaged hands.

 

"I thought you liked it," Josh claimed, glancing at the boy in his arms in confusion.

 

"I-I do, it j-just makes m-me flustered." Tyler stuttered out, face turning a shade a of pink. He was approaching the door now.

 

"Well, in that case," Josh scanned the card to open the door. Once he opened it, still managing to hold Tyler, he walked and pushed the door with his foot, and went directly into his room, placing Tyler down on the blue colored bed. A smile ghosted his lips as he leaned over the younger boy. "I'm going to have to keep doing it." He whispered.

 

Red tints made its way onto Tyler's cheeks yet again, "No," Josh chuckled as he groaned, dragging out the 'o' in No. Josh tugged off Tyler's shoes and then continued with his own. The younger of the two wrapped himself in the blankets scattered onto Josh's bed.

 

"Can I see your hands? I want to put more neosporin on them if that's okay with you."  Hands were directed towards Josh instead of a verbal response. Hurriedly, Josh grabbed the cream from the bathroom and began unraveling the bandages wrapped on Tyler's hands. Clear cream was gently allocated onto Tyler's small hands. At the contact, Tyler hissed in pain. "Sorry, love." 

 

Crismon, again, made its way onto his cheeks. Why did he always blush when Josh was around? "S' okay." Shrugging, he whispered, caught up in Josh's fiery red eyes that were staring at his damaged hands. Guilt filled Josh's brain as he remembered why Tyler had gotten these marks. He had felt awful about it when it had happen, but seeing this just made it worse.

 

Gradually, he wrapped new gauze on the tan hands that belonged to the brunette. Josh's eyes flickered up at Tyler's, meeting direct contact with them causing red to appear on both of their cheeks rather than just Tylers. "How were you able to put on makeup earlier when your hands were bandage?" Inquired, raising a brow. 

 

Tyler shrugged, not necessarily knowing the answer. "Skills, I-I guess." 

 

Josh smiled instead of replying to him. The black remoted connected to the TV was grasped by Josh. "What should we watch, angel?" 

 

"C-coraline?" With the frail voice, the small stutter, and the adorable sight he was giving off (courtesy of the blankets wrapped around his small frame and draped over his shoulders), it was impossible for Josh to not awe at the view. At the sound, Tyler didn't do much, only covering his cheeks up with the blanket, still allowing him to peek at Josh.

 

"Sure." 

 

"Cuddle." Making grabby hands, Tyler demanded quietly and Josh smiled at the younger boy.

Red hair fell in front of the red eyed boy's face as he climbed onto the bed, causing Tyler to roll slightly closer to him because of the dip in bed from Josh getting in it. Josh laid down on the right side, while Tyler laid beside him, close to the wall.

Deep breaths allowed Tyler to be calm and Josh watched the younger boy intently for a brief second before changing his position to face the TV and changed the channel.

Soft humming, Coraline, quiet snores, cuddling, and back tickling is what consisted of the few hours they had alone before the get together. It was Tyler who had fallen asleep first, simply because he so calm and at peace he couldn't help it. Although the constant head pain and the small panic attack he had earlier made him tired as well, Josh was the reason he had fallen asleep during the the first 30 minutes of the film. 

Vibrations from Josh's phone woke him up. Brendon was calling him, but luckily hadn't woken up Tyler. In a whisper, Josh spoke to Brendon as he didn't want Tyler to wake up. "What's up?"

 

"Are we inviting the other people from the group? Or, just us?"

 

"Uh," The answer to this was unclear. He didn't want to make Tyler overwhelmed with new people, but he had to remember that eventually, Tyler would have to meet them all. "Sure. Tell them to come." The redhead shrugged, subconsciously continuing to tickle Tyler's back. 

 

"Okay, cool. See you in a bit." The phone line was dead before Josh could properly bid a farewell.

Josh decided to wake Tyler up a little later, mostly because they had to get the pizza and set up for their upcoming guests. However it led to Tyler slightly panicking about meeting new people.

"O-0h my goodness, Josh, what if they don't like the p-pizza?"

 

"Tyler everyone liked pizza. Don't worry." A chuckle from Josh made Tyler feel like he was overthinking. But when wasn't he?

 

"What if they d-don't like music? Or t-t-the drinks? What if we put a movie on and they don't like that eith-ther?" Nails were being bitten as Tyler rambled about things that were making him nervous. 

Josh stared at the worrying boy, making the quick decision to try to calm him. "Babydoll, it's all going to be fine. No one is going to hate the music or food or movie, if we even put one on. You can stay with me the entire time. I'll hold your hand if it'll make you feel any better."

 

"Promise y-you won't leave m-me?"

 

"Cross my heart." The red haired boy made a cross sign over where his heart was located, easing Tyler slightly. The brown eyed boy was staring at his hands.

 

"And you'll h-hold my hand?" He questioned hopefully, looking back up to meet Josh's red orbs.

 

"I won't let go." He assured the nervous boy.

 

"Okay." The brunette whispered.

 

"Alright?"

 

"Alright."

 

A knock on the door silenced their conversation. "And so it begins."

 

"And so it begins." Tyler repeated, smiling slightly as Josh tugged his arm, signaling him to get up as they had to open the door for their guests. 

 

Four pizza boxes, dozens of conversations, and 5 Dr.pepper liters later, they were all gathered around sharing their abilities. Due to lack of room, Tyler was sitting in Josh's lap, uncontrollably smiling as Josh was rubbing his back and shoulders and such. Everyone besides Tyler, Josh, and the newer people had said what their powers were. Jenna, who sitting next to them, was telling them her powers, which meant Josh was next. 

 

"Oh my gosh! That's me!"A brown haired girl named Millie gasped at the sight, unable to hold her shock in. Turning back into her usual form, Jenna smiled at the younger girl. Tyler was trying to focus but his head was really hurting again.

 

"Joshua you're up, buddy." Rolling his eyes, Josh sat up, adjusting Tyler onto his left thigh with ease, so he could look at the people who were curiously watching them. 

 

"I can shoot fire out of my hands." A girl with long dark hair styled in pigtails watched skeptically. With a hand still laced with Tyler's, Josh used his left hand to form a small ball of fire, quickly vanishing it after a few seconds. "Alright, your turn." Despite the nerves he was feeling, he knew he had to do this. 

 

"I can d-d-do a lot of things r-revolving around the mind. I can read minds, communic-cate with people using the just mind, c-control minds, and I have telekinesis." 

 

"What number am I thinking off?" A boy with tan skin and dark hair questioned, making eye contact with Josh.

 

"84." Quickly, Tyler responded. "N-Next person." He shyly spoke, leaning back against Josh again. 

 

"You did so good." Josh praised, making Tyler blush and flash a sloppy grin his way.

 

"Can face y-you? Wanna' lean o-on your s-shoulder cause' my head hurts again."

 

"S' fine." Josh assured.

 

Although Tyler couldn't see, he still listened to everyone in G21 talk about their abilities. He had learned multiple things:

Spencer, a brown haired boy could track down anything using sound waves. Hayley, a very short bright orange haired girl could mimic powers. Millie, like Tyler had telekinesis. Nicole, a brunette with bright eyes and pigtails had the gift of being invisible and flexible. Matty, a tall and dark haired boy could right through anything. A brown, almost black haired boy named Jon had the power opposite of Josh, which was water.  Troye, a curly brunette with bright blue eyes had x-ray vision and speed. Ashton, a curly brunette with hair a bit lighter and eyes a bit darker had the gift of strength. 

Overall, the night went pretty well. Tyler felt so, so grateful for Josh. If it wasn't for Josh, Tyler wouldn't be calm and relaxed. 

Thank goodness for Josh.


	11. hide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hold me down ; halsey

"My brain h-hurts." Whined Tyler as he walked through the halls. 

 

"My everything hurts." Melanie replied, feeling physically drained.

 

"Says the one who can't feel pain." Ashley retorted, which made Tyler giggle. 

 

"I didn't think training would be so draining." Patrick muttered beside them, running a hand through his light colored hair.

 

"That rhymed!" The youngest of the group pointed out, with bright eyes.

 

"For a person who is in supposed pain, you're awfully cheery."

 

A blush appeared on the sixteen year old's face. "Can't a guy b-be happy?" He questioned, raising one of his eyebrows, which didn't have makeup on it today. Simply, he woke up late and didn't have time at all to put on makeup. Peach lip gloss coated his lips, however. 

 

"Why are you happy?" Melanie asked, stopping in her tracks and looking at him.

 

"Must I have a r-reason? Can I n-not just be happy?" Answered Tyler.

 

"Yes, but there's a specific reason. You're all giggly." Ashley responded.

 

"He's seeing Josh in a few minutes. I don't blame him for being happy."

 

Brown eyes widened as Tyler nudged Patrick for outing him out. "Shush!"

 

"Aw!" Melanie cooed, grinning at the curly haired brunette.

 

"I've never seen Josh so happy about someone. It's weird because Debby and him were madly in love but, then there's you. He just, he's different around you." Ashley continued.

 

Again, Tyler blushed. "Stop!" He groaned, dragging out the 'o' in stop.

 

"And when he calls you those cute pet names, like baby, you get so blushy." Patrick added with a nod.

 

"Geeze, is today 'm-make tyler blush day?' My gosh!" Tyler criticized, attempting to cover up his scarlet-red face with his hands, that were almost completely healed. 

 

"We're almost there, Ty! Bet you can't wait to see your little boyfriend!" Teased Melanie.

 

"If a-anything he's big. I-I'm like 5'6, and he's like 5'11!"

 

"That's not the only about Josh that's big." Ashley muttered, making Melanie snort and Patrick slap the back of her head.

"What else c-could be? His feet?"

 

"Oh, Tyler. Poor young innocent Tyler." The blue and purple haired girl cooed. 

 

"Let's keep him innocent, yeah?" Patrick argued, glaring at Ashley when Tyler wasn't looking.

 

"Is there something I'm m-m-missing?" He questioned, feeling a bit left out of the conversation.

 

"Look what you did Ashley!" Patrick sneered.

 

"Fine. Let Josh corrupt him then. I don't care." The black haired girl shrugged. 

 

"C-can someone please tell m-me what's going on?" Tyler implored.

 

"Josh will tell you one day. Wait for him to tell you, though. Don't ask."

 

"Don't you mean show?" Ashley edged. Making Patrick's orbs widen, yet again.

 

"Ashley!" Patrick hissed, swatting Tyler away from the older girl, frowning. 

 

"I don't e-even care anym-more." Tyler sighed. 

 

"Don't listen to them," Patrick advised, giving a sympathetic smile towards Tyler. "They're just being stupid."

 

The group had turned down another corner, easing Tyler's annoyed feelings and replacing them with excited ones. He really did hate that training now and been split into groups of four. Technically, one group had five, but both Tyler and Josh were in groups of four.

 

As fun as using your powers for a long period of time may seem, it was exhausting, for all of them. It had been a little over two months since they had been welcomed into G21, and the weekly training never seemed to me something to get used to. On the contrary, Tyler did understand that training was quite essential. Including the training everyone in the school had gotten, he really was fully controlling his abilities and using them only when necessary. Of course there's a few slip ups, where Tyler thinks something and then does it accidentally, but for the most part he's been pretty good. Another thing that was improving; Tyler's stutter. Charles was serious when he said he wanted Tyler to get help for it, and most certainly be enforced it. Tyler didn't mind, though. If anything he was glad to get rid of something he felt held him back.

 

Josh, on the other hand, had already learned how to control his powers when he was younger. However it was a lot easier for him, as his brain controlled what his hands did and Tyler's brain was in control of itself. Mainly, Josh was being taught how to use his powers in much larger quantities. Fire explosions were a huge focus. Occasionally they would pull Josh out of G21 practice that consisted of 3 other members, and just take him into a private room and see if he was able to meet expectations. Almost always, he was.

 

The teacher would watch above him, in a room build in for observations. Everything in the room was fire proof, so the explosion would only last a few seconds before vanishing. Recently, his powers were getting stronger. He was an extremely fast learner and X-Men would most certainly use that to their advantage. 

 

A bonus of being part of G21 would be being many teachers favorites. Of course there was the teachers who thought education was more important than anything, who frowned upon Charles for pulling them out of classes, but that was least of the groups worries. Around school, many thought that anyone associated in group twenty one was a one that was not to be messed with. Those who thought that were correct, likely because everyone in the group received intense training weekly, and not to mention that they were already powerful.

 

Although, there wasn't always positive things that came from being in group twenty one. Constant training was exhausting, and not to mention it was painful. Death was also a big fear they all faced. Both Josh and Tyler wondered late at night about be killed when fighting against mutants. Sometimes the fears that came with the job they had all signed up to do randomly creeped up on them. They all tried to avoid it, but not everything is avoidable. Another thing, although it was stupid, was the pills they all had to take everyday. Sure, they all knew that it was to help them continue to be healthy, and that the pills had vitamins and other vital nutrients to help them, but they just tasted so bad. Of course all of the members were scared about facing attack. Even though one may feel ready, you never truly.

"Josh!" Tyler squealed, running towards the older boy. He enveloped the Tyler in a hug, the smaller boy pressed against his chest.

 

A sigh in content allowed the people surrounding them to quietly awe. Happily, Josh chuckled. "Hi baby. How was training?"

 

"It w-was good. I'm t-tired." The brunette reported.

 

"Good thing we have lunch now. Try eating something. It should wake you up." He told him quietly.

 

Recently, they had been teased about Josh apparently 'babying' him. Tyler didn't mind at all, likely because in all honesty, he loved when Josh did it, simply due to the feeling he got when Josh did it. It made him feel like someone cared and wanted to care for him, and that was great feeling. Josh, on the other hand, loved it for a different reason. He loved to care for Tyler and he loved that Tyler depended on him occasionally, as it made him feel important. That, to Josh, was a great feeling.

"Mmm, 'kay." He mumbled, stepping away from Josh, much to his dismay. However, the slight frown on his face disappeared when Tyler grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together.

 

"We're not dating."Ashley muttered, mocking the duo as she put finger quotations on her, well, Josh's (previous) words. 

 

Although a blush scattered his face, he still turned to Josh and asked him question, ignoring Ashley's comment. "How was y-your training?" He inquired, giving Josh's hand a squeeze subconsciously.

 

"Tiring but good. You want to get food now?" Josh squeezed his hand back.

 

"O-okay."

 

Their friend group followed the pair shortly after. It wasn't until Tyler heard her voice, when he realized he had forgotten to ask her an important question.

Jenna wouldn't mind helping him at all, she really was an amazing person who helped Tyler with everything. Greatly did Tyler appreciate her. Over the past two months, both of them grew very close. She had helped him with makeup and Tyler helped her with clothes, even though he didn't have very much of any feminine clothes himself. Both of them were quite fond of each other. Tyler and her tried to have sleepovers at least once a week, sometimes inviting Melanie, Debby, Scarlett, and Ashley. They usually watched movies and painted their nails, and of course they tried random makeup looks they got online for fun. 

"Jen!" Tyler called, turning his direction to face her. He began to walk towards her, Josh following him because he didn't want to let go of Tyler's hand.

 

"Hi, Ty. I thought you forgot about me because you were with Josh." She winked, making Tyler roll his eyes.

 

"We need t-to go s-shopping, and I n-need to get a skirt." Josh's head perked up at this, red eyes meeting Jenna's blue ones. 

 

"Okay. Text me when you want to go. We'll make plans." Jenna assured the younger boy.

 

"Got it."

As the group continued to walk, Brendon began making stupid jokes. "How many tickles does it take for an octopus to laugh?"

 

"Brendon sto—"

 

"Ten-tickles."

 

Even though the joke wasn't really that funny, Tyler started laughing because he always laughed at stupid things. Josh laughed at Tyler, because the boy was practically crying from laughter. 

 

"Tyler I'm honestly questioning if I want to be friends with you." Melanie commented, quite amused with Tyler's laughter.

 

Brendon looked in his book, flipping a page and reading another joke from his book. "Ty, why didn't the toilet paper cross the road?"

 

"W-why?" He was still trying to regain himself from the fit of giggles he had just encountered.

 

"No, Brendon, please don't—"

 

"It got stuck in a crack!"

 

"I'm not okay with this." Scarlett said blankly, looking at Brendon with a blank expression, making Brendon laugh harder. Tyler giggled again.

 

"What do you call—" As Brendon was talking, he was interrupted by a voice on loudspeaker.

 

"Attention all students, we are going on lockdown. This is not a drill. Again, this is not a drill. All students report to a classroom immediately. Group Twenty One report to Professor Xavier's office immediately. This is not a drill."

 

Loud alarms, almost like sirens began going off, flashing red. Tyler's heart be quickened, and almost immediately did Josh pull him closer. 

 

"M' s-scared." Tyler whispered, Josh pulling him closer. 

 

"Don't worry. You're safe. I've got you."

 

"Guys let's go!" Patrick yelled, he began running. Everyone else started running too. 

Anxiety floated in the air they were breathing in. Of course they were nervous, they had every right to be. No one knew what was going to happen.

Perhaps that's what scared them the most.

 

"Oh gosh, I hope Debby's okay." 

 

"She'll be okay, Josh." Scarlett reassured Josh, although it didn't help much. 

it's   
There was a loud noise that made them all jump, however only made them run faster. Even though the academy was on lockdown, there were still people running around, likely trying to get to classrooms. However, when they started running through the few people in the halls and started spotting people in all black clothing, Josh and Tyler knew something was wrong.

The people with all black clothing started running. Tyler gripped Josh's hand harder. "J-joshie," They started running faster. Charles' room was so close. They'd make it. 

"It's alright, love." He whispered.

More people with black clothing were beginning to approach them. Tyler was scared. One of them was close to Tyler, and it was only a matter of time before something bad would happen.

Quickly, Tyler was ripped away from Josh, and the rest of the group. "Josh!" He whimpered, trying to grab the older boy.

"Fuck." It barely took a second before Josh's fire activated, already shooting out of his hands in small bursts. Tyler disappeared in seconds, appearing in a different hallway. The person who took him must of had a power similar to Debby's.

"Let m-me go!" Tyler protested, kicking his hands and feet as he was carried. "Get off!" Tyler's eyes turned red as he used his power to make the person release him, and the person did almost immediately, falling on the floor, another action Tyler had forced them to do.

Another person had grabbed him however, a needle in their left hand. "Stay still!" The voice yelled, shoving the needle into Tyler's neck.

"Get t-the hell away!" Tyler again used his powers, making the person fall. He was bleeding slightly, but the stuff in the needle wasn't injected into his neck, so he was safe. 

The sixteen year old stepped over the body, and started running towards Charles' office. He was soon close enough to hear what was happening in the office. Someone was yelling.

Josh.

"No, it's not okay. Someone fucking took him. Do you understand that? He's in danger and you're saying it's okay." 

 

"Josh relax, don't use your powers over this." Haley reassured him.

 

"He controls minds. Tyler's very capable of defending himself."

 

"What if they knocked him out? I swear to god Charles, if he's hurt, I'll f-"

 

"J-Joshie," Tyler whispered, placing his hand into Josh's making him turn around in shock.

 

"Oh thank god," Josh mumbled. Turning to face the younger boy. He pressed his forehead to Tyler's, holding Tyler's face with his hands. "Are you hurt?"

 

"Someone t-tried to put a-a needle in my n-neck and they did, but they d-didn't get to inject it. I'm safe."

 

"Charles what are we supposed to do? We can't fight them if they're all around the school. We'll destroy everything." Brendon rationalized. 

 

"We'll have to figure out a way to lure them outside of the building." Jon agreed.

 

"Like bait?" Questioned Millie.

 

"That would make sense." Debby nodded.

 

"What would be our bait, though?" Calum asked, looking at Professor Charles. 

 

"I'm not sure. What do they want the most?" Nicole spoke quietly.

 

"Our powers." Ashley recited.

 

"Okay, so basically what you're saying is we should use ourselves as bait?" Ashton pondered, looking at her in fear.

 

"I didn't say that all. I just said what they want the most. Our powers." 

 

"Maybe they'll come to us if they know where we are." Josh wondered out loud.

 

"They want Tyler's power, right? What if we make him go someone specific and we all hide near him so when they come we can attack." Melanie suggested.

 

"You're kidding right? We aren't using Tyler as bait." Josh argued.

 

"Josh, this could work really well." Pete assured the red haired boy.

 

"This could also go horribly wrong." Josh muttered.

 

"I'll be o-okay." Tyler told him, however Josh wasn't buying it.

 

"You hate the word okay. I know you're scared."

 

"I'm g-going to be f-fine. Please don't w-worry."

 

"He isn't doing this." Josh instructed. 

 

"And who are you to tell him what he can and can't do?"

 

Josh paused. Luke was right, even though Josh didn't want to admit it. "I'm his best friend. I'm someone who cares about him a lot." Josh helplessly defended himself.

 

"C-can I talk to him b-by myself in the o-other room?" Pleaded Tyler.

 

"Of course." Charles allowed. Tyler pulled onto Josh's hand gently, and Josh quietly followed. 

 

"I just want you to be safe." Josh said as soon as Tyler closed the door. He locked it with his mind and turned to face Josh.

 

"I can ha-handle myself. I control people's minds. I can make you give me per-permission to do this if I wanted. I won't because I respect you. I'm powerful J-josh. You know I could k-kill people, right? I'll be fine. Everyone will be there to p-protect me."

 

"And what happens if you get hurt, Tyler?" Josh debated. 

 

"I'll be alright. We have h-healers. I'll live."

 

"Tyler please." The red haired boy begged.

 

"We n-need to help everyone. We have t-to do this, Joshie." Tyler begged him.

 

"But—" Tyler gave him a look, and Josh stopped. "Okay." He whispered.

 

Happily, Tyler walked out of the room with Josh and back into the room everyone else was in. "Let's go." Tyler mumbled, loud enough for everyone else to hear him. 

"Tyler, be safe." Josh thought, and Tyler smiled. Josh wasn't blocking his thoughts from Tyler. The group walked after Tyler, and Charles sent him a message with his mind.

Good luck.

Tyler didn't really know where we was going. He just kept running, and was soon in the field, near the school. He was yelling everyone the same thing, except he wasn't speaking. They were all hearing this in their minds.

Hide. 

Tyler was sitting in the middle of the field, and the rest of the group was scattered around, hiding behind large objects. 

"You want me? You'll have to come and find me! Find me!" Tyler yelled, placing the mental image of him sitting on the ground into people's heads. 

He was trying to access any mutant he could, and it was working. Tyler knew what was happening. He could hear what they were thinking. He told everyone in group twenty one.

They're coming.

Still, Josh's thoughts could be heard. He was scared for Tyler. Tyler decided to send him happy memories of the two of them. It was very easy, seeing as he couldn't forget anything. He could tell Josh was calming down at the memories.

"He's sending me memories of us. He's trying to calm me down." Josh whispered to Melanie, who smiled at the words.

 

"So you're seeing memories that he has of you together in your head? He can do that?" She inquired.

 

"I guess so." Josh was smiling, along with his eyes closed. He had no idea Tyler could do that. How was Tyler so good at this?

Everyone's thoughts were racing and Tyler could barely focus on making Josh calm, and he stopped paying attention for a few seconds. However the loud sound of running brought him back to his main objective.

"You want me? Come and get me!" Tyler yelled, beginning to run after he stood up.

 

Josh's eyes shot open. "They found him." He muttered to Melanie.

Of course, they did come and there was more than one. Lots of them, all scattered in small groups, all surrounding Tyler. Curiously, Tyler looked around. He felt out numbered, but he knew the group could handle this, along with him as well. The black clothing they wore was almost intimidating, but Tyler didn't show his fear in the slightest. His eyes remained a dark red color as he held back his powers. Just a little closer. They only need to move just a bit more and Tyler would cue everyone to come help him. 

Someone had speed. He was too fast to consider it regular. No one would make it fast enough if he cued them now. But it was okay. Tyler could do it. 

Red filled the once cheery brown eyes as Tyler made eye contact with the approaching target. It almost a second he had snapped his neck, allowing the body to fall to the floor near his feet. Tyler frowned. Was he dead? 

It didn't matter because more people were coming. He didn't have time to think about the possibility of killing someone. 

Now.

Josh's head perked up at the sound of Tyler's voice in his head. Melanie started running towards Tyler. Ashley had began singing the second she had heard Tyler's voice, while Patrick had managed to get a lightning strike to the ground, likely hurting people already. Millie was scared, but she ran out of hiding. Someone had already grabbed her, seeing her as an easy target because she was smaller, however she was underestimated far too much. The second the girls hands touched Millie, Millie had turned around and used her power, blood instantly coming from her nose and blood coming from the eyes, mouth, ears, and nose of girl who had tried to hurt her. She had fallen on the floor, and Millie was shocked that she was able to do such a thing.

Jon had grabbed a mutant from behind, pushing his hand over her mouth and then shooting water down her throat, ultimately making her pass out in the process. Fiery bursts shot through the air and had landed on the field, making a deathly burning path in the matter of seconds, curiosity of Josh. Jenna had stared around for a second, trying to determine who to mimic before spotting a person clawing at Melanie, who grabbed the knife from her pocket and stabbed her arm, watching as the person she was fighting with grab their now bleeding arm and hiss in pain. 

Jenna cloned as the person, running towards a mutant and looking at them before beginning a hurried conversation.

"Who should I get?" She blurted hurriedly, as the boy next to her stared at her go a second before recognizing her as the person she was portraying herself to be. 

"That boy with dark hair. I can't remember his name." He directed, moving his head towards the directed Brendon was. 

"How about," She paused, wondering if she do what she wanted to do. After a second she continued her sentence. "I get you." Immediately, she had punched him directly in the face, smiling in triumph as the boy cried out in pain, blood spilling out of his nose.

"What the hell! You're on my side!" He cried.

She morphed back into her natural form, her bright blue skin taking over the pale color it was seconds ago. "You sure about that?" With another punch, the boy was knocked out. 

Tyler, on the other hand wasn't to successful. Someone had grabbed his neck from behind, which ultimately pulled him down, and Tyler tried to use his power, but one person was holding him down by the neck and another was attack his body. 

Josh had spotted him, abruptly running over to him to help. His hands grasped at the green haired boy's arms, burning them quickly, making the boy withdraw his hold on Tyler. Tyler had used his powers to snap the green haired boy's neck, staring at his limp body for a second before redirecting his attention to Josh.

"Are y-you alright?" He asked quietly, being careful not to touch him, as he knew that his body temperature would be extremely hot.

 

"I'm safe, baby. Are you?"

 

"Y-yes." A girl was sneaking up on Josh, and Tyler stared at her, before snapping her nneck. Josh turned, eyes widening at the sight of the girl lying near his feet.

"This will be over soon. We'll all be safe." He told Tyler, smiling at him slightly before running out of his view, leaving Tyler to fend for himself again. 

And in that moment, all Tyler had hoped for, was for Josh to be right.


	12. (i’m not a) monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bittersweet tragedy melanie martinez

The body fell limp to the ground at the contact of her electric hands, a devilish smile plastering the brunettes face. It only took a second for Josh to notice who was on the ground, mostly because he had been checking up on him excessively to make sure he was safe.

He hadn't done a good job.

Ten dark red marks the size of fingerprints (currently covered by the fingers that caused them, as the girl hadn't released him yet) scattered Tyler's neck as he laid unconscious on the floor. It wasn't Tyler's fault, as he, again, had been ganged up on. Someone was distracting Tyler while the other grasped his neck and sent electrical shocks down his body. Josh had almost felt grateful for Tyler to be unconscious, as he didn't want Tyler to deal with that pain.

A glare crept onto Josh's face as he looked at the filthy face who did the bruising on Tyler's neck. Figuring she should get a taste of her own medicine, Josh ran towards her, swiftly wrapping his hands around her neck as fire came from them. Her hands withdrew from Tyler, which meant they were probably on his neck for about twenty seconds. His eyes closed at the sight of flesh burning, but he waited a good few seconds until he was sure she wouldn't hurt Tyler or anyone else anytime soon. 

He picked up Tyler's body, running back to where he was hiding before Tyler cued him to come out, and placed him gently down. The rise and fall of his chest allowed Josh to know that he was still breathing. After a quick forehead kiss, Josh ran back out to finish what mutants had started. 

Tyler was out cold as the rest of his group fought the rest of the them. It wasn't long before they had finished them off, leaving some dead and some unconscious. No one in Group twenty one had gotten seriously hurt, which was a good thing. Sure, a few bruises and scratches, but nothing the nurses couldn't handle. Tyler wasn't to badly shocked. Likely, the only reason he had passed out was because of the shock he had felt from being shocked. 

It felt like eternity before someone broke the silence after Melanie killed off the last mutant. "So that's it." Millie quietly whispered, staring at all of the bodies on display.

"That's it." Gerard repeated, whispering the words as he adjusted his glasses so they were tighter on his head.

"We have to go tell them to stop the lockdown." Ashley announced, heading towards the school slowly, ignoring the protest her throats made when she tried to speak.

"You guys go. I have to get Tyler." Josh told them, nodded off to the direction of the school as he went into the direction Tyler's unconscious body was located. 

"You want me to get him?" Ashton questioned, giving Josh a small smile. Josh wondered why he had offered before remembering that Ashton was extremely strong.

"Do you mind?" Josh asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously.

"Not at all." Ashton followed Josh, staring at his surroundings while tapping his finger on the side of body subconsciously.

When the group arrived at the school, it was quiet and calm. The lockdown was over, but everyone was told to stay in their classrooms. The three boys landed in the nurse's rooms, Ashton gently placing Tyler on the rather comfortable nurse bed.

The nurse said his injuries were mild. He was okay, and that was all that mattered. She also told Josh that Tyler's neck would likely hurt from the shock, but he would be fine. Pain meds were recommended, but otherwise Tyler was supposed to be able to do everything and she assured Josh he had nothing to worry about. 

It was only a few hours later when Tyler woke up. He was laying in Josh's bed, along with Josh by his side. He had woken up with a groan, rubbing his eyelids tiredly. Josh was on his phone and immediately looked up at the noise. "Hey." He whispered.

"Hi." In the same volume, Tyler whispered back.

"How are you feeling?" The red haired turned over on his side, now facing Tyler properly.

"How a-are you f-feeling?" The brunette repeated, addressing the question to Josh. 

"I asked you first." The older boy fired back.

"I asked you s-second." Tyler retorted, raising his eyebrows in a way that showed Josh he wanted a challenge.

"Fine." The red eyed boy shrugged, sighing. "I was feeling pretty worried and anxious, but then you woke up. So now I'm feeling good. Your turn." 

With furrowed eyebrows, Tyler reluctantly answered his question. "My neck stings. I-isn't that how I b-blacked out?" 

"Yeah. Someone shocked you. But I burned her. She barely got you. The nurse said it was from the shock of being shocked that made you pass out, if that makes sense." Josh reported.

"Oh. Do I have marks?" A nodded answered Tyler's question as Josh quietly breathed out. "B-bad?" He inquired, referring to the marks.

"Noticeable." After stretching his body by sitting up, Tyler moved closer to Josh, placing his head on his chest. The grin that spread to Josh's face was uncontrollable as he wrapped his arm around the curly haired brunette. 

"I s-should probably get a shower." Tyler told him, unwillingly getting up to go into the bathroom.

"I'll be expecting more cuddles when you get back!" The red hair called, watching the younger boys frame walk out of his view, a smile on both of their faces.

It wasn't until Tyler got into the bathroom when he began crying. No, he wasn't in pain. He wasn't even sorry for himself. He was sorry for other people. The people who no longer could live because he took that opportunity away.

The three people he murdered, they weren't able to experience good things in life anymore. The weren't able to experience life at all. And, it was all Tyler's fault. Sure, maybe they were out to kill him, but three lives are better than one. At least that's what Tyler thought.

The brunette stripped himself of his clothes, leaving him cold. Hot water shot out in spurts, slightly making the sixteen year old flinch at the contact. Even though he didn't get used to the hotness of the water, he continued to stay under it, very still. 

Remaining still, he shut his eyes, allowing the translucent fountain to sting his skin. Tears slowly poured down his cheeks, quickly being washed away by the water once Tyler stepped closer to the shower head, giving the water permission to burn his face.   
After a minute, he sat down, pulling his legs up to his chest. 

Inhale, exhale.

He just sat on the floor of the tub for a while, letting the hot water rain down on his cold body. He was crying, and freaking out, but he didn't make noise. In fact. he was completely silent. His head was spinning and causing a completely mess, yet everything was so still.

Inhale, exhale.

Why was it so hard to grasp a breathe? Why couldn't Tyler do it? He tried to breathe with nose, and then mouth. Why wasn't it working? 

Inhale, exhale.

He stood up, finally finding the breath he was searching for. Sliding back down against the bathroom wall, he extended his legs near the shower, allowing them to feel the stinging pain. 

A sob racked through his body. Why should Tyler live and three lives not? He was a murderer. Soap wouldn't clean his crimes. God would never forgive him for such actions. He was going to hell, and he deserved it. Maybe going to church would help. Maybe, just maybe, because he was defending himself, god would forgive him. 

He was a monster.

But that wouldn't be true, nor would it happen. One life is less than three lives, therefore he should have died rather than three other people. He wasn't going to be forgiven for such a sin. Not easily, at least. His body was now filled with dirty blood, and he needed his father to drain it, clean it, and make it clear and worthy again. Obviously it would be a process. He'd have to talk to the pastor before doing anything.

He stood up, wiping his teary eyes and wrapping his towel around his body. He would be fine. He had to be fine. He was protecting himself. He was protecting future people who could get hurt because of the mutants. But what if they only wanted Tyler? What if they never wanted any other mutant and Tyler killed three people for really no reason at all?

At the moment, he had gasped for air, and a sob followed right after. He knew Josh had heard. He knew.

"Ty?" Three knocks on the door are what Tyler heard next, his dark brown eyes staring at the door longingly. "Can you open up the door?" The sixteen year old held his breath. "I know you can hear me." Josh spoke, placing his forehead against the white door. 

A sigh escaped his lips, nevertheless he hoped the door and stared at his feet. "Yes?" He questioned quietly.

"What's wrong?" 

"I d-d-did a bad thing." He reported, running his hand through his damp hair.

"What do you mean? Are you alright?"

"I'm okay." Josh could tell he was lying by his choice of words. "But they aren't." He whispered.

"Who?" Josh pondered.

"The p-people." Tyler elaborated, although Josh still looked confused. "Th-the ones I killed."

Red eyes widened at the choice of words. "They were going to kill you." Josh reminded him.

"Three lives are b-better than one." Retorted Tyler. 

"Not if it's you." Josh fired back.

"What do y-you mean?" He questioned, a frown gracing his lips.

"Your life worth more than a thousand of their lives. You're more important and better than all of them."

"I'm a killer." Tyler muttered.

"So are they." He replied, staring into Tyler's brown eyes. 

"I wish I-I could hear what you were th-thinking." The younger boy admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"There's a reason I block my thoughts from you, Ty." Josh told him, his red orbs staring at his feet. 

"Which is?"

Josh sighed. "I'm not telling you."

"I'm a monster." The brunette told him.

"You aren't."

"Even if I'm not r-right now, Josh, I will be. If I'm not a m-monster I'm a killer. And q-quite frankly, they're the same thing."

"Monsters are things people are scared of. I'm not scared of you. Mutants are scared of you, but that's a good thing because then they won't try to hurt you. You killed those three people because they were not only going to kill you, but they were going to kill everyone they could. They would have killed Brendon, Jenna, Debby, Patrick, Pete, Scarlett and everyone else. Is that what you want? Us to be dead?"

Clearly Josh's words got to him. He seemed to have a look of realization on his face as Josh spoke. "No." He whispered. "Of c-course not."

"Well stop saying you're a monster then." Instructed Josh. "You're a hero."

"Group twenty one report to Professor X's office immediately. Again, Group twenty one report to Professor X's office immediately."

"Christ." Josh muttered. "What now?"

Tyler got dressed quickly, throwing on a pair of black leggings and a grey tee shirt. Josh was still wearing his close from earlier, and he didn't bother to change, instead following Tyler out the door. Both had felt a sense of Deja vu as they scurried through the hallways, going to Professor X's room. 

Familiar faces littered the room as everyone filled up the space known as his office. The last person to come in was Jon, and then Charles began speaking about the Mutants. 

"As you all know, the Mutants want all of you on their team. They want your powers. They want your blood. We need to play strategically, as this a game of life or death. I've created a plan. For the next three days, you will be pulled out of all classes. All work will be exempted and you will go under strict training, with breaks of course. Now, after those three days, we will attack the Mutants." 

A few gasped left mouths as the group continued to listen to Charles. "Oh gosh." Millie muttered. 

"Yes, it sounds crazy. It is, to be quite honest, but we must threaten them. They must know that we will destroy them if they come near our path. I think a sneak attack would be the perfect way to distribute that."

"Okay." Brendon nodded, along with a few other people. Others looked around anxiously. Tyler felt Josh intertwined their hands. 

"Get a good night's rest. Training starts at 8 tomorrow." He advised, dismissing the group.

Tyler looked at his and Josh's hands as the group swarmed out of Professor X's room. He stared at the hands bashfully, feeling slightly happier than before because of the simple motion. 

When they had gotten back to their dorm, Josh had decided to turn a movie for both of them to watch before they fell asleep. Tyler had went into the bathroom to change, and stared at his shirtless body in the mirror. This time, he felt relief. This was real, and this was fate. He was alive for a reason.

And maybe, just maybe, Josh was right.

He wasn't a monster. 

He was a hero.


	13. read my mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is so damn cute ah  
> but this song is so crucial for this chapter so please listen
> 
> read my mind; the killers

Tyler sighed, exhaling as he trampled up the steps to the second floor. The practice room he was in currently was quite strange. It had two floors, unlike the usual one. There was a viewing place ; a few couches set up near a force-fielded glass window. The second floor was only this viewing place, and it was small, but was a great place for students and trainers to view whoever was practicing downstairs.

His head hurt from overworking his abilities, but he knew that this training was necessary. Opening and expanding his mind to other possibilities and other potential ways to defend himself and others was very important, and that was one of the main things trainers focused on.

Sweat dripped down his forehead as he opened the door to the VP, as everyone called it. He had subconsciously looked for Josh, and after being unsuccessful, he had frowned and sat next to Melanie.

"He's over there." Melanie whispered, directing her to the right. Tyler's eyes followed her gaze, spotting a bright red head. He didn't realize he was smiling.

Tyler had wanted to get his attention.

Hey.

Josh looked up at hearing Tyler's voice in his head. He had looked around, trying to find the brunette. He had saw him in the VP and flashed a toothy smile towards him. Tyler smiled back. He wouldn't continue the conversation. He knew better. Distracting Josh could leave someone and possibly himself injured. 

Hands were directed upwards, to the target that one of the trainers place out. Tyler watched intently, and Josh could feel his stare. However his gaze didn't intimidate him or make him nervous. It only made him what to do better. Maybe he was showing off, or maybe he was doing it to impress Tyler. It could be both. 

Orange and red flames shot from his hands, sending the target into black dust and the surrounding area in flames. It was put out by a trainer in seconds, and a people in the VP began training. Tyler grinned at him, feeling that familiar feeling in his chest that he only felt around Josh again.

Only a few seconds later, targets were being thrown towards him. The actions had made Tyler slightly anxious for Josh's safety, but he knew Josh was capable of so much. Josh's hands began bursting out flames and hitting the multiple targets being thrown at him in all sorts of directions. As the targets got increasingly fast, Tyler held his breath. When the targets suddenly stopped, he let out a happy sigh and stood and began cheering along with everyone else.

 

Josh started doing the same thing again, not missing the targets being flown at him. He ran downstairs, opening the door and watching Josh, from the door quietly. This time, it was longer than the last and Tyler's eyes never left Josh's body. A few minutes later, Josh finished, and Tyler couldn't help but run over to him. 

"Are y-your hands hot?" He laughed.

Josh shook his head. "No. I'm good, baby."

Tyler smiled, happily pulling him into a hug. Foreheads pressed together after they finished hugging. "You were really good." He whispered. "I d-didn't know you could d-do that."

"I didn't either." He replied honestly, chuckling slightly. 

There wasn't anything to say, but their foreheads were still pressed together. And it was almost as if the world around them had slowed down for a few seconds. Brown eyes locked with red ones and Josh felt himself lean in closer. Lips touched lips, and before they knew it, they had moved closer to each other and continued to move their lips against each other's. Josh pulled Tyler's body into his, while Tyler draped his arms over Josh's neck. Tyler pulled away slowly, smiling and blushing. 

"You s-should go back to training." Tyler whispered, turning away and leaving Josh there with a blushing face and a sloppy grin. He had ran back up the steps, grinning as he heard everyone's thoughts about the kiss. He knew the second that he walked in, that would be all everyone was talking about it. It didn't bother him very much, but he had feeling that it would make him flustered. 

"I knew it!" Ashley yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him with a laugh as Tyler sat down.

"I ship it!" Melanie exclaimed, making Tyler roll his eyes, yet the smile never left his face. 

"I'm crying gay tears." Pete flamboyantly told the group.

Rolling his eyes, Tyler moved down, sitting near Pete. "It was j-just a kiss." He mumbled, the smile never leaving his lips.

But, it wasn't just a kiss for Tyler. It wasn't just a kiss for Josh. They both were well aware of that. They had finally acted on their feelings, and were glad to know they both reciprocated them.  That kiss was much more than just lips touching lips, and it was important and it meant something. And no, it wasn't only because it was Tyler's first kiss, either.

Josh wouldn't admit his feelings easily, and Tyler was too scared to say anything, so this was there way of showing that. Actions speak louder than words. Today definitely proved that.

Red still was prominent on both of their faces as they turned to look at each other through the viewing place. Tyler grinned at him before turning his head, leaving Josh to stare at the side of his face in awe. Josh looked back at his trainer who had a smirk plastered on his face. He stared at the targets that were being set up. This would involve a lot more skill and control. It was almost like an obstacle course , except much more deadly. The course consisted of a variety of things. Tires, electric shock charges, ropes, and ice cold water were all scattered about it. Josh didn't feel intimidated by the objects, however. 

Anxious eyes watched him, trying to determine if they thought he could pull this off. Tyler had faith in him, much he obviously was still worried about him getting hurt. He stared at the cold water in confusion, wondering why it was there. He looked over to Patrick, and adjusted the way he was sitting.

"Why i-is there water?" He inquired, looking back at Josh.

"Cold water hurts him when he's fired up." Tyler tried not to let that information bother him as he stared at his lap. Josh had previously made Melanie get cold water for his hands when he burned Tyler. Why did he do that if it hurt him  as well? He didn't seem affected by the water at all when he put in his hands in the icy water before. 

Soon enough, training was over. It was around five o' at night and a few people were at Josh and Tyler's dorm when Debby spoke up. "I'm going to the library."

Tyler's head perked up at the voice. "Why?" He asked, staring at Debby.

"We thought it would be nice to see why the war between X-Men and mutants started in the first place." Jenna explained, adjusting her seating position so that she was on her knees.

"C-can I come?" Tyler questioned, feeling slightly left out. 

"Of course." Ashley answered, making Josh's eyebrows raise in surprise.

"I'll go, too. Who else is going?" Josh inquired, looking over at the three girls. 

"Jenna, Debby, Ashley, Brendon , Jon, Millie, You, Tyler, and Me." Melanie replied, taking a sip from her Dr.Pepper afterwards.

Tyler had forgotten that people couldn't hear others thoughts like he could, which led to his reply to Ashley, which only made sense to them. "Yeah, j-just call me later." He told her, referring to her thought about contacting Tyler when they were leaving.

Everyone besides Ashley looked at him, confused. He had chucked before blushing. Ashley informed them so he didn't have to. "He was talking to me out loud about what I was thinking." 

"We're leaving at 6. Be ready." Melanie informed Josh, who nodded. 

Josh's heart raced at the thought of being alone with Tyler. They weren't even alone during their last encounter, yet they had let that kiss happen. 

He inhaled deeply, trying to figure out what could possible go wrong so he could prepare himself for the worst. He didn't even realize the door had shut or he was alone with Tyler until Tyler had said something.

"You didn't s-say bye." He observed, propping his elbow on his table and his hand under chin.

"Sorry...I was thinking." He answered distractedly. His brain was somewhere else full of bad scenarios while his body was still next to Tyler.

"About?" 

"Stuff." Josh answered.

"Which is?" Tyler pushed.

Sighing, Josh rolled his eyes. "You." He caved. 

"Oh." Tyler whispered, a blush forming on his cheeks.

Josh had gotten up, going into his room. He didn't know if he wanted Tyler to follow him, but if Tyler did he wouldn't tell him to leave or anything. He had a feeling Tyler would come in.

His head stared at the ceiling distractedly. What would he say to Tyler if he came in? He didn't have much time to think about it because Tyler had came in. Climbing in the bed, Josh wrapped his arm around the smaller boy. 

"S-s-sorry." Tyler mumbled, making Josh's brows furrow.

"For what? You didn't do anything." 

Tyler shrugged. "You seem up-upset. If you're t-thinking about me I must be the cause of it."

"I'm not upset." Josh simply replied. "I've just been thinking and it's gotten me distracted. Nothing you need to worry about."

"Are you sure?" Tyler asked nervously.

"Positive, angel. I'm not upset with you."

"Okay." He sighed. Josh could tell he was upset. He shrugged Tyler off of him, smiling at the face he made from losing contact with him.

"I'll prove it." He climbed on top of Tyler, his hands resting on each side of his face as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. Tyler grinned at the action, instantly kissing back.

Josh pulled away after about a minute, even though he didn't want to. He had to take this slow. Tyler was new to this. He couldn't go fast. He pressed a quick kiss to his lips again, climbing off of him, settling down next to him, pulling him in his chest.


	14. history books

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Max Eisenhardt is Magneto's real name. However, he is called Erik in the movies.
> 
> heathens ; TOPxMM

Tyler and Josh had walked out the door at 6:26, even though Josh had told Tyler to get ready so they wouldn't be late. Assuming he would be ready on time was a mistake, as they were almost thirty minutes late. Everyone was waiting at Jenna's dorm, though, and no one really cared about them being late because they were all caught up in conversations.

No one paid any attention to Josh's and Tyler's intertwined hands or Tyler's lip gloss as they walked in the room, something they were both grateful for. It was hard for Tyler to act so natural when Josh was continuously squeezing Tyler's hand, but he managed. 

Once they got to the library, Jon had offered to ask where the history books were."Good evening." Jon spoke politely to the librarian. "Do you know where the history books are?" He inquired, his feet rocking back and forth from slight nerves.

"Which kind?" The lady questioned back.

"Um, ones that are about our school." He replied.

"Oh," The woman paused for a second, thinking before answering. "I assume they would be in the third aisle of the history selection." She told them.

Jon had nodded, muttering a quiet thanks before beginning to walk over to the isle he was directed to. The group followed, and Tyler whispered something to them all when they were out of hearing range from the librarian.

"S-she was lying to you." Tyler accused firmly.

Jenna's eyebrows raised in surprise. "What? Why would she do that?" 

Wondering the same question, the brunette shrugged. "I don't know. But I'm s-s-seeing some sort of room. It's here, but I don't know where. If we look for it, I'll rec-recognize it."

"Let's look for it then." Millie suggested. Tyler nodded, and the group started to follow. A slight blush appeared on his cheeks when Josh slipped his fingers in his hands.

Melanie whispered 'ship' to Ashley, and Tyler rolled his eyes. They continued to search for the place, although Tyler was the only one who knew what he was looking for. He had found the location and was rather confused when he saw it. There was only one book out of the whole isle. Tyler picked it up, about to open the pages when the wall with the book case began turning. His eyes widened as the wall turned to reveal a black small room, maybe about three feet or so. 

The area wasn't filled with as many books, but the surrounding walls were. In the middle of the rather large room, was a few white leather couches and a table with what Josh could only assume to be alcohol. The walls were a darkish blue, and the shelves attached to the walls were wooden brown. Tyler saw the book in the lady's mind when she lied to Jon. The book was small, but it was black and had rings, almost like a binder. 

"Guys I don't think we should be in here." Jenna said cautiously. 

"That's what makes it adventurous." Ashley grinned, looking around the room in curiosity.

"Do you think there's a way to stop people from  
coming in? Just in case someone does?" Debby pondered, looking around the entrance that wasn't much of an entrance at all. 

"Try that." Brendon suggested, tilting his head over towards the buttons near the entrance.

"Which one?" She whispered, studying them. Brendon's eyes scanned the buttons before pressing a red one, which made Debby's eyes widened. "What if they catch us?" She asked frantically, looking around nervously.

"They won't. If they try Tyler could make them walk away or you could transport them somewhere else in the school. Don't worry." He assured her. 

"Guys the book we a-are looking for looks like a black binder. It has the l-l-letters C-X-M-E." Tyler explained his vision.

"Alright," Jon muttered, his brown eyes scanning the few books located on shelfs. 

"Found it." Melanie told Tyler, handing him the book. He smiled and opening the pages, his eyebrows furrowing at the strange book. Josh stared silently, wondering multiple things. Jenna had pondered about who wrote in. The book wasn't large, nor did it seem different than any other book. 

"I don't know. It doesn't have an author." Tyler answered her out loud. "Jenna w-was wondering w-who wrote it." He told them.

The group nodded and Tyler sighed before staring at the foreign format. Something clicked in Millie's head as she stared at odd pages. "Thats a document."

Ashley nodded at Millie's word. "Yeah. She's right." 

"Only a few pages have writing." Debby observed as Tyler skimmed through the document.

"Why are all of the other pages blank?"? Brendon asked, a frown gracing his pink lips.

"This doesn't make sense." Jenna muttered.

Tyler began reading. "Max E-Eisenhardt met Charles X-Xavier in September of 1963." Jenna tensed at the mention of Max Eisenhardt.

"Who's that?" Jon inquired, his eyes scanning the pages curiosity. 

"Magneto?" Josh said as if it was obvious. However, not many were of knowledge of his actual name, mostly referring him to Magneto. "Our, like, main enemy." Jon nodded, trying to avoid Josh's gaze, clearly embarrassed.

"Josh c-c-can you read please?" Tyler asked, his stuttering bothering him too much to read aloud.

"Sure, baby." Tyler blushed at the pet name, but Josh was too busy reading to notice. "Both were good friends. During a battle with Cuban soldiers—"

"Wait, what? Were they at war?" Debby asked, eyebrows raised in surprise and confusion.

"That's what it seems like." Brendon speculated.

"Eisenhardt killed Sebastian Shaw, who killed his mother and was encouraging young mutants to take over the world with him. After the murder, Eisenhardt placed Shaw's helmet on his own head.   
Xavier had requested that Eisenhardt would not turn the missiles being fired at them and kill the soldiers that were in the ships. Not listening, he began to turn them with his hands, despite the protests from other mutants besides Xavier. A friend of Xavier tried to shoot Eisenhardt, and he blocked the bullets using his powers, but unfortunately, one of the bullets he had dodged stuck Xavier in the back, leaving him paralyzed." 

"No way." Ashley exclaimed in shock, placing her hand over her mouth. "Oh my gosh."

Josh continued. "Of course his intention was not to hit Xavier, even though they were facing conflicts. The missiles nearly hit the ships as Eisenhardt realized what he had accidentally did. Eisenhardt had left at around the time he had hit Xavier, possibly because he couldn't stand to see his best friend in pain because of him. He had also left to begin recruiting people such as Emma Frost and Mystique to join him, as he wanted to go against humans and take over. That was when Eisenhardt began referring he to himself as Magneto."

"They lied to us." Brendon whispered, in shock.

"I knew it!" Melanie yelled. "That excuse they made was complete bullshit! No mutant would ever drink another's blood, even if they were against each other!" She argued, shaking her head.

"But why would they lie?" Jon debated, running a hand through his dark roots. 

"To protect to us?" Millie elaborated.

"From what, exactly?" Jenna asked.

"I don't know." Mille responded honestly.

"Maybe it was because they didn't want us to join his side." Suggested Debby.

"That makes sense." Agreed Josh.

"This is so fucked." Melanie decided.

"Well," Brendon started, looking around to his friends. "What are we supposed to do?" 

"T-talk to Charles." Tyler confirmed, inhaling deeply.


	15. if only

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the kids aren’t alright fob

Josh's hand tapped on his side rhythmically as he walked into lunch. His red hair fell in front of his eyes causing him to push it back. Red eyes scanned the large room, trying to find his group of friends, more specifically Tyler. 

It wasn't hard to find the most beautiful boy he had ever laid eyes on, and he did spot him quickly. A space was already left for Josh, everyone already coming to the conclusion that Josh would always sit by Tyler. Slight pink shades made way onto the younger boy's face as Josh subconsciously slipped his hand into Tyler's. 

It was calming and peaceful, and Tyler allowed his head to rest on Josh's shoulder. He wasn't focusing on much, only really paying mind to Tyler's breathing. For once, he wasn't nervous about anything.

He didn't have any tests he had to study for, nor did group 21 have an upcoming battle. Everything was okay right now, and Josh wanted it to last for as long as possible, and forever. If only things good things could last forever, though.

Melanie can last forever. Josh remembered the deal he created Tyler and Melanie. He wondered about when they would go through with that. He didn't say anything to Melanie at that moment, however. He didn't feel the need to. Not right now, at least.

Inhaling deeply, Josh tried to focus on Tyler's voice. He wasn't stuttering for once. It was strange, but Tyler sounded so much more confident and happy when he wasn't stumbling upon his words. No one at the table seemed to notice him, or the fact that Tyler was talking clear. It confused him, but he didn't speak. He wouldn't want to call Tyler out or make him feel embarrassed. 

Josh exhaled. It almost sounded like a sigh, but it wasn't. There was no need to sigh. But then his chest slightly got tighter, nearly straining. Why was it becoming hard to breathe? He looked around the table. No one was smoking. Was it just him who couldn't breathe? What was wrong with him? Josh tried to breathe again. He wasn't successful.

Perhaps he couldn't breathe because smoke began filling into the room. But no one noticed. Confusion filled his brain. Was he crazy or something? Did no one see or feel the smoke? It was traveling fast. Surely they must have breathed it in. 

So much ashy, grey, smoke. Breathing in smoke is breathing in pollution. You might as well not breathe in at all if you're breathing in smoke. He could feel Tyler's hand but he couldn't see it anymore. The smoke was a grey cloud, blocking his vision. The room was barely a color, only a grey fog now.

"Tyler?" Josh called out. It hurt to speak. He wished he could breathe. "Hold your breath, okay? I'll get you out."

Josh didn't hear a response, but he felt Tyler squeeze his hand. He stood up, pulling Tyler along with him. It would be hard to escape this, especially because of the smoke. It was like fire, but not Josh's fire. It was a bad fire. A smoky, dark, black fire. It was all wrong and evil. Josh needed to get Tyler out. 

His legs stopped working. They weren't moving and he couldn't feel Tyler's hand. The smoke was clearing but everyone was yelling and trying to leave the room. Where was Tyler?

Lights. So many lights and bright oranges and reds came in front of Josh. He didn't move because he couldn't. He was stuck in place. Jenna and Brendon were running past the lights, and then the lights got bigger and Josh couldn't see them anymore. Where did they go? Josh wasn't breathing. Finally, he was able to move again. He walked towards the lights, and then realized they were flames. His heartbeat quickened as his brain came up with scenarios about what had happened to Jenna and Brendon.

His red eyes searched through the brightness, only finding something when he stepped on it. He ducked down, his head touching whatever he walked on. Red and ash covered the object. He lifted it up, but it was so much heavier than it seemed. Pulling it out of the smoke, everything seemed to slow down. It wasn't an object. It was Jenna. She was burned and covered in debris, smoke, and blood. Crystal eyes were bright and wide open, staring lifelessly up at Josh. Blue skin was barely there, most of it ruined and burned. Josh stared at her, not sure of what to do. 

Brendon was still in there. Did he escape? Or was he like Jenna? Hoping for nothing like the latter, he stepped back into the flames. Searching for what felt like hours, he found an object. It wasn't a human and it weighed almost nothing, nevertheless he ran out of the fire and stared at the small object in his left hand. It was Brendon's glasses. It took everything in him to not let the whole building blow up in flames caused by him. Sliding the glasses into his pocket, he ran out of the room, heading into the hallway that was filled with fire.

His heart raced as he tried to figure out what to do. He prayed that Tyler was safe and that everyone else was, as well. Maybe Brendon was somehow safe. Josh highly doubted that, though. 

A terrifying, high pitch scream, likely from a femame could be heard. But it only took Josh a few seconds to register who that scream belonged to. Ashley. He could almost picture what was happening. He would have to save her before he lost someone else. 

The smoke was fogging up the hallway, making it nearly impossible to see. Unrecognizable screams could be heard, making Josh just run faster. "Ashley?" He called out, his head turning in frantic directions, desperately trying to find the black haired girl.

He heard his name being faintly called out, but it was hard to tell which direction it came from. A gasp escaped his mouth when he saw part of the ceiling fall down. A few whimpers could be perceived.

It was a motive. Someone had to have planned this. There was no way in hell this wasn't a planned out murder. Gasoline was an aroma dusted throughout the room, and for the first time in his life, the fire had made him feel sick.

But then, the worse happened. Part of the ceiling had collapsed onto his leg, and he couldn't take it out from under him. He couldn't burn the debris, as there were too many people near him and he wouldn't want to risk their lives. A still body was all he was. 

People had been running past him, not seeing him under the objects that covered his body. He had wished he couldn't see anything. The last thing he wanted was to see another dead body. Patrick could be seen, leaning down and staring at the ground intensely, his lips moving slowly. Was he talking to someone on the ground? Or, was he out of breath and just resting? Certainly, it couldn't be the latter because why would he try to breathe in a room with a collapsing ceiling and a fiery floor? Seconds was all it took for the fire to surpass Patrick's location. 

  Tyler must have been okay, right? He wasn't in the room as far as Josh knew.  He could distinctly hear yelling, cries perhaps. He had looked to his right, his eyes landing on a hand. Bracelets wrapped around the wrist, and one of them looked all too familiar. Heart racing, along with breathing ridged like the waves in the dark blue ocean, made it harder for Josh to focus. However, he knew what that bracelet was. It was given to Debby, by him. A sinking feeling coated his chest as the realization appeared in his mind. But the doors opened, and in came the pale brunette Josh had been worrying about. 

"Josh?!" He asked frantically, his head switching from left to right as his eyes scanned the ruined room. Josh tried to speak. He really did. His voice wasn't working. Nothing was. "Josh! Please!" Again, he didn't say anything.

It didn't matter seconds later, due to the loud explosion from another floor, likely down stairs. Yet, the worse was yet to come. The giant piece of debris had fallen off of Josh as the floor collapsed, sending him over twenty feet down. He didn't understand how he was still breathing, let alone alive. With a numb and bleeding leg, he tried rummaging through the objects and the burnt debris, only in attempts to find Tyler. 

"Damn it!" Josh yelled, his head turning rapidly. Tyler couldn't be far. Josh was right where he fell. "Tyler!" He called out. Hope was beginning to deteriorate.

His red eyes had then spotted a body under a giant piece of ceiling. Surprisingly, Josh was able to lift the large piece off of the body with ease. His heart sped up as he examined the body. Grey ash stained the torn clothing and damaged hair on the body, its eyes were dull and lifeless. The skin was covered in soot, but a small amount of flesh on the arms and legs was unfortunately eaten away from the fire, an orange and red tone displaying instead of a normal skin tone. The face wasn't burned. Josh could see who it was the second he laid his crimson eyes on it.

Tyler.

Oh, Tyler. His poor baby. Josh felt his heart ache at the sight, and his breathing decrease. Everything stopped. No fire, no blood, no smoke, no ash, no anything. Just Tyler and him. Just Tyler's lifeless body in his arms. 

Did he even have lungs? Or anything? All he could feel was his eyes watering continuously. Why did it have to hurt so, so, bad?

It couldn't be real. Nothing made sense. It wasn't Tyler. No way. The brunette was too smart to play him like that. It couldn't have happened. Was it all some sort of sick, twisted joke?

Pulling the body away from the debris, Josh picked him up, running out of the room. He cried for help. He tried to get someone to acknowledge the fact that Tyler was dead. 

Josh was dying, too. He had forgotten how to breathe and he wasn't concerned about breathing because he wanted someone to fix Tyler. But Tyler wasn't broken. He was just dead. A simple word, with so much meaning. 

 

"Josh!" Someone yelled. He couldn't figure out who it was. "Josh, please!" Someone grabbed him, shaking him roughly. 

He opened his eyes.

"Josh?" Tyler asked, his expression filled with concern. 

"Oh my god." Josh uttered out quickly, pulling Tyler from his seat and onto his lap.

"What's wrong, baby?" Tyler asked, his small hand going to rub away the tear stains on his face.

"You-you, I-I don't know..." He closed his eyes, and opened them again. Nothing changed. This was real. "When we started holding hands," Josh said frantically, looking around at everyone who looked back at him with confusion. "Everything went weird, and then t-there was an explosion and everyone died. You died, and I found you and it was so scary because I thought I lost you forever an–" Josh was interrupted with a kiss from Tyler.

"Was it a vision?" Brendon asked, worry in his voice. "He's gotten them before." He told Tyler, averting his attention back to Josh moments later. 

Red eyes widened. "Yeah! I-I-I think it was. I mean it wouldn't be anything else right? What else could it be?" 

"Nothing, I guess. What happened it, exactly?" Jenna questioned.

"I just, it was so weird. Everyone died from these explosions. I think the mutants made them. Tyler died last and we all were burned and bloody. And the floor collapsed and something fell on Tyler which was why he died. Jenna, Brendon, and Debby died because of an explosion that happened in the same room. A-And I couldn't even tell it was Debby because she covered by debris. I only knew it was her because I saw the bracelet I gave her. It was s-so scary, guys." Josh ranted. 

Tyler noticed his scared state. "L-let's go to our room, okay? I think y-you should rest." He told him, getting up from his lap and pulling him away from the cafeteria.

"Okay," He whispered, following Tyler out. He tried not to let his nerves get to him, but he couldn't help it. "You died!" He squeaked, pulling Tyler into an embrace as he began to cry. 

Startled, Tyler didn't know what to say or do for a few seconds, but his instincts eventually kicked in. "Hey," He whispered, wiping away his tears. "That's not real. I'm safe. I'm right here with you. I'm not dead and I-I don't plan on being dead for a long t-time." Tyler assured him, rubbing his back as he heard Josh's muffled sobs.

"B-but I seen your body, Ty. It was so scary. I never want to ever see that. I don't want to live without you." Josh admitted, his voice cracking multiple times, slightly getting higher as he finished explaining.

"I can't imagine it, angel." Tyler allowed the pet name to slip, a blush appearing on his face. Josh couldn't help but smile through his tears. "You're alright. You're safe and s-so am I. It was a horrible vision. It's l-l-like a bad dream." He assured him. 

"God, you're perfect." Josh muttered, Tyler turning bright red at the praise.

"Shh, this is about you. Not me, s-silly." Tyler hushed him, trying to ignore what he had said. "I need to m-make sure you're calmed down a-and that you feel safe." 

"This is calming me. Making you happy is calming. I'm safe if I'm in your arms." He concluded, smiling at the younger boy. 

"We aren't far f-from the room." Tyler noted, pulling Josh from his wrist towards the right. 

"Let's go then." He spoke softly.

Once they had gotten in, Josh was still shaken up. His hands were still shaking, his body was sweaty, and his breathing still wasn't even and it had only made his anxiety increase. 

"C'mon." Tyler directed the older boy. "Lay down." Josh of course followed the directions, not really seeing a reason not to. "A-a-are you hot?"

"Yeah," The older responded. Josh's anxiety had made another appearance when Tyler went about taking off Josh's shirt. 

"Your legs, too?" The brunette inquired. Josh nodded, feeling more self conscious. Just to make sure, Josh double checked that the curtains near his window were closed because he didn't want anyone to see something between him and Tyler. Not because he was ashamed or anything, because dating a boy like Tyler Joseph would truly be an honor, but simply because this wasn't anyone's business. It was just them two. Tyler barely stared at his body, leaving Josh clueless as to if that was a good thing or not. Instead of a witty comment about his shirtless figure, the brown eyed just climbed in next to Josh. His eyes fluttered shut when Tyler's soft hands gently tickled his face. It would have normally felt weird, but for some reason it was calming.

"Baby?" Josh said while his eyes remained closed. Tyler hummed instead of a verbal reply. "Can you sing to me?"

Those simple words filled Tyler's brain with slight excitement but anxiety nonetheless. However, Tyler knew that comforting Josh was more important that his stupid anxiety. His brain racked the millions of songs he had memorized. Part of his brain was tempted to sing one if his own songs. He thought about sad songs and happy songs, deciding that a slower one would be more suitable for Josh's state.

"We'll do it all, everything. On our own." He began singing Chasing Cars to Josh gently.

Josh, feeling too calm not too, fell asleep within minutes. Tyler's voice was soothing and it had made Josh relax enough to sleep, and that had made Tyler feel good about himself. 

If only Tyler had seen the person staring outside of Josh's curtains.


	16. mystery man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don’t start the song yet ill tell ya when babe

Tyler glanced at Josh nervously. "Just do it." Ashley said with a shrug. If only it was that simple.

Thoughts raced through Tyler's mind as he stared at the door blankly. He wasn't quite sure how this was going to work out, and perhaps that's what scared him the most. Of course Tyler would never disrespect Charles, nor did he want to, but was asking about the documents and asking why he lied really appropriate or respectful? Sharply inhaling, Tyler glanced at Melanie, who offered him a reassuring smile. Although the gesture didn't ease his nerves or do much of anything, he still appreciated it. 

Stepping forward, Josh linked their hands together in hopes that it would calm Tyler. "Ty?" Josh uttered. 

"Yeah?" Turning around, his eyes linked with Josh's red ones. The older boy took it upon himself to step the slightest bit closer, leaning down to kiss the younger brunette he was so fond with. 

Tyler's cheeks turned bright red, nevertheless he kissed back. Melanie let out a gasp and Jenna laughed at the duo. Much to Tyler's dismay, Josh pulled away from the kiss. "Better?" He asked with a sideways smile. 

Rolling his eyes playful, Tyler grinned back. "Yes. V-very much. Although, I think you should keep doing it because it makes e-everything better." The younger recommended.

"On it." Laughing at the cheeky remark, Josh took it upon himself to knock on the door, turning Tyler around to face it in the process.

"J-Josh!" Tyler hissed, glaring at him as he heard footsteps from the other side. "Why would you–Good m-morning Professor!" Tyler changed his tone along with his words when he saw Charles standing ahead of him.

"Good morning Tyler." Charles replied, giving Tyler an odd look. "May I ask what brings you here?" 

"Well we wanted to talk to you about something..." Tyler trailed off.

"Well, come on in." Charles stepped away from the door, allowing Melanie, Josh, Jenna, Brendon, Ashley, and Tyler to walk in. They all sat down before Melanie started speaking.

"So we were at the library." She said, deciding to give a little background information about what happened.

"And we saw a document." Jenna added.

"So we read it." Ashley continued.

"And we found out a lot about how the school origin-n-nated. But we wanted to ask an important q-question." Tyler went straight to the point.

If Charles was nervous about the questions he could have possibly been asked, he didn't show it at all. "Ask then." He told them.

"Why did you lie to us? You told us that mutants sucked our blood and all of this crazy stuff, but they don't do that at all. They just wanted us to join their side." Josh blurted.

Slightly taken back, Charles frowned. "I have my reasons, Joshua. Although you think I'm ludicrous, I assure you my intentions were well." He told Josh.

Watching carefully, Tyler focused on the thoughts in Charles' mind. He was being truthful. Tyler could hear it. "Can you—can you tell us your reasons?" Tyler pushed.

Please start the song now! It's Hold me Down by Halsey.

Letting out a sigh, Charles nodded. "I suppose so. But you all most promise me one thing." Everyone stared at him wide eyes as he spoke. "You mustn't say a word about this to anyone who isn't in Group 21. I'll know if word gets out, and believe me, there will be consequences. Understood?"

"Yes, professor." Jenna agreed.

"The reason I masked this all from you was to protect you from Magneto. I didn't want you to possibly join the other side, and if I scared you and threatened you, even, you would have been less likely to join Magneto's side. I don't want to you be against the world because the person who guides you thinks they are more superior than all. I want you to succeed and control your powers. Never would I wish a war on any of you, and Magneto causes many of them. I twisted the truth to protect you from them." He explained.

None of them said anything, trying to process all of his words. Melanie stared at the ground, Jenna and Ashley were staring at each other, and Brendon's gaze was fixated on Charles. Tyler and Josh were looking at their intertwined hands, squeezing each others' as an attempted distraction, although it wasn't working very well. 

"So you wanted to protect us?" Jenna repeated quietly. Tyler had then realized he couldn't her thoughts either. Why would she block them? He chose to ignore it, labeling it unimportant.

"Yes." Charles replied, certainly prominent in his voice. "It may not have been the best decision, but it was made so long ago and I couldn't change what I had already done, so we've just had to continue on with it."

Slowly, Tyler nodded. It was hard to process all of this, but he'd manage.

"You should probably get to class. The first bell will ring in 3 minutes." Charles advised.

Melanie's eyebrows furrowed at his words, not realizing that it was so close to school time. Nevertheless, she spoke for everyone. "Okay. Thanks for clearing things up, Professor." She praised him, bending down to pick up her bag off of the floor. 

The rest of the group soon got up, following Melanie out the door. Tyler didn't want to part with Josh, and vice versa for Josh. However, education was an important part of their life, so their emotions would have to be put on hold until later on. Josh (quickly) walked Tyler to his class, not wanting to late for his either, although he knew his teacher wouldn't mind. All teachers seemed to take a strong liking to those involved with Group 21.

Classes were a drag for Tyler, simply because he already knew what the teachers were going to say. Tests were stupid and didn't actually test his knowledge because he always heard the answers in other people's heads. Plus, if he wanted he could just find the answers in the teachers brain. Although, that required more effort and Tyler would rather just pay attention like a normal student. 

Therefore, here he was, sitting at his desk next to someone named Jesse who seemed over enthusiastic. He was never rude to Tyler or anything, so he couldn't complain. It wasn't like he wanted to, either. Jesse seemed really nice, but they only had Maths together. Tyler admired him for being himself and painting his nails and such. However, Tyler somewhat felt bad for him. Tyler assumed he had pretty bad anxiety judging from what he was hearing in his head. 

A test was in front of him, and he was already finished. Not only did he have the advantage of reading people's mind, but he was also extremely intelligent on his own. He really didn't need answers from other people's tests. He knew it was likely right, anyway.

The next two classes passed relatively fast. It consisted mostly of independent work, something that was easier for him personally. His third period teacher had even be kind enough to let him wear headphones, because they sometimes drained out the thoughts of others. Of course he would still here the thoughts, but they became a lot less noticeable and a lot more distant when music flooded his ears. 

As he was walking to lunch, Josh approached him, grasping his arm and turning him the other way. Tyler immediately noticed his eyes weren't red. "W-What happened to your eyes?" He asked, his plucked eyebrows furrowing. 

"What do you mean?" Josh queried.

"They're brown?" He stated, although it sounded like much more of a question.

A confused expression wiped Josh's face. "Oh! Contacts. Do they look weird?"

Tyler eyed him suspiciously. Why was he acting so strange? "Are y-you alright?" 

Josh nodded. "I'm okay. Why'd you ask?" Tyler realized his word choice, frowning. Josh knew he hated that word when used in that context. Why was he saying it?

"You seem a bit o-off." He muttered.

"We should go into our dorm." Josh advocated, changing the subject.

Again, Tyler's brows furrowed, his brown eyes turning red. No matter how hard he tried, he was able to read his mind. It was like a black wall was suppressing Josh's thoughts. He was just going to waste energy if he continued to try. Sometimes he really hated the fact that Josh had a force-field power.

"What about—What about our friends?"

"Who cares? I wanna spend time with you." A blush unwillingly appeared on Tyler's face at the words, yet he still felt odd about Josh's behavior. 

"Um, alright." He spoke cautiously.

Josh's usually warm hands were cold when he joined his hand with Tyler's. Something was definitely off, but he didn't want to push it. Sighing, he followed Josh into their shared room.

It was even a minute before Josh hungrily pressed a kiss to Tyler's lips. Of course Tyler was confused at first, not understanding what the sudden affection was for. That didn't stop him from kissing back, though. 

When Josh eventually pulled away for breath, Tyler looked up at him, his brown eyes full of curiosity. "What was that–that for?" He spoke breathlessly.

Josh shrugged. "You're tempting." He kissed his lips again, this time just settling for a few seconds. "Let's get something from the fridge."

Nodding, Tyler followed Josh into the kitchen, studying him as he opened up the fridge and took out ingredients necessary for sandwiches. He grabbed bread from the counter, searching for the plates afterwards. 

"Tyler?" Tyler hummed. "Where's the plates?"

Confusion dusted on the younger boys face as he answered his question. "The s-s-second cabinet to your right..." He uttered. 

Grabbing the plates, the red haired boy went about making his sandwich. Soon after Tyler repeated his actions, his mind more focused on Josh than the task in front of him. He was in fact so distracted, he dropped the knife he was holding when he was trying to spread mayonnaise on his sandwich. 

Looking over at him, Josh stopped making his Sandwich. "Are you okay?"

He did it again. Why was Josh saying that? Had he forgotten it bothered him? "F-fine." He muttered.

After eating their sandwiches and conversing about things Tyler thought were unimportant, they sat on their couch, switching on TV.  Their kitten was on Tyler's lap, purring happily as Tyler rubbed behind his ears. Josh had pulled Tyler onto his lap, pressing a few stray kisses on his jawline.

That soon had caused a make out session, Tyler no longer thinking about Josh's odd behavior and more so focused on his lips. They didn't hear the door unlock. Tyler didn't at least. 

His eyes were closed, so he didn't see 'Josh' change back into his normal form, his body changing into a boy he had never seen before. But of course Tyler still didn't know this, as his eyes were closed. Tyler also didn't see Josh walk into the dorm, a heartbroken expression flooding his face. 

He had realized when Josh had spoken to him, however. "Tyler?"

Tyler pulled back confusedly. "Wait," He looked back at the boy was 'Josh' only seconds ago. Then he looked over to Josh. "What?" He said anxiously. "Y-y-you were just h-here." Tyler told Josh, anxiety creeping in on him.

Tyler already knew what Josh was going to think. But he didn't cheat on him. They weren't even together, but that didn't mean a sm thing to Tyler. He still wouldn't go around kissing girls and boys. It wasn't like he wanted to, either. He only wanted Josh.

"What the fuck, Tyler!" Josh looked at him, his red eyes becoming teary. Although Tyler's body tensed at the sudden tone, along with the language, and he felt like he would throw up any second, he still shot from off of the unfamiliar boys lap and went over to Josh.

"J-J-Joshie–Joshie, please believe me." He stuttered out, his hands starting to shake. A panic attack would be incredibly terrible to had. at the moment, but Tyler wasn't sure he could contain it.

"Why Tyler? What did I do to deserve this?" He snapped.

He doesn't know what happened yet. He'll be okay once he finds out, Tyler told himself. Turning to the mystery man, Tyler glared at him through tear eyes. "W-who are you?" He stammered.

"What do you mean? You know who I am, baby. You were just kissing me." The boy lied. 

Josh scoffed, wiping away his tears angrily. "Unbelievable."

Passing out seemed pretty ideal to Tyler. How was he going to convince Josh he didn't do anything wrong? How was he supposed to know he was being tricked like this?

"Who are you?" Demanded Tyler, allowing his tears to fall.

"Wow, Ty. Nice to know the feelings mutual." The boy acted, walking out of the dorm and past Josh, hitting his shoulder.

Suddenly, Tyler was hearing thoughts. It took a second to realize they were Josh's. They were full of questions. Did Josh even know he could hear him right now?

"Josh?" He whispered. Josh ignored him, walking straight pass and going into his room. Hearing the lock turn, Tyler sighed. He could open the door if he wanted, but he also respected Josh.

As much as he wanted to have a pity party for himself, Tyler knew he had to do something. He quickly walked out the door, spotting the unfamiliar boy quickly. 

"Hey!" The boy turned back, quickly falling down because Tyler used his powers to make him asleep. Dragging his body into the dorm, he laid the boy on the floor, not really caring if he was comfortable or not.

"Joshie, c-can y-y-you please come out? I really–really wanna talk." He spoke quietly. His stuttering was a mess because of his anxiousness.

There wasn't a reply. Tyler let out a cry, and he soon couldn't here Josh's thoughts anymore. He wiped his eyes, sniffling. "P-please?" He whispered desperately. 

About thirty minutes later the lock clicked, and Tyler's watered eyes looked up hopefully. Josh didn't say anything as the door opened. Feeling his heart sink at the sight of the tear stained boy he was so fond off, he wiped his eyes quietly. Grasping his hands, Tyler remained silent.

"I-I-I can explain everything," He conceded. 

Josh looked up this time. "Go on."

"T-they were disguised as you. H-he had transforming p-powers. Like Jenna." Tyler admitted.

"Why were you kissing him when he didn't look like me?"

A defeated look spread on Tyler's face. "When we s-started kissing, he looked like you....I guess he changed when he h-heard you or some–something?" 

"Why would he do that?"

"I d-don't know. Is he from here?" Tyler asked quickly.

"Why does that matter?"

"Do you believe me?"

"I want to." Josh sighed. "But it seems like it isn't true...I'm sorry." He spluttered. 

Tyler winced at the words. "It's o-okay." He lied. Josh knew he was lying by his word choice. "I'll p-p-prove it to you." 

Touching Josh's cheek, Tyler used his powers to show the memories of what had happened only seconds ago. It wasn't long before Josh realized Tyler was the innocent one in this situation, guilt creeping inside him.

Josh's mouth slightly feel open as he saw what had happened only a few seconds ago in Tyler's point of view. "I'm so sorry," He faltered. Part of Josh had felt good, however, because he had a boy who was faithful to him.

"D-don't be sorry. You didn't do anything. He was acting weird, and he even had brown eyes. I'm sorry. I should've realized something was wrong and stopped kissing him." Tyler babbled. 

Pulling Tyler into him, he pressed a gentle kiss to his soft lips. "Let's stop being sorry and figure out why the fuck this happened." Josh swore, making a slight smile spread to Tyler's lips.

"On it." The brunette agreed.

Josh used his powers to his advantage, quickly grabbing the boy's wrist and making his hands hot. He let go when the boy's eyes opened.

"What's your name?" Tyler interrogated. 

"None of your concern." The brunette replied with a smirk. Tyler scoffed, looking over at Josh, nodding. Hot hands were brought back onto the boy's arms. 

The boy hissed in pain, moving his arms away from Josh. "Mark." The boy, known as Mark, told them.

"Do go here?" Josh questioned. Mark didn't reply. Tyler gave him a look. Josh burned his arms again. "Let me try that again. Do go to this school?"

"No!" He whined from pain, his body jolting as an attempt to get away from Josh's hands.

"Why did y-you trick me?" Still, Mark didn't reply. It didn't seem like he understood what would happen if he didn't answer. "I said, why did you trick me?" The brunette ordered.

"I'm not allowed to say," Mark replied nervously.

"Says who?" Josh pushed.

"Magneto." Mark swallowed. Josh and Tyler exchanged curious looks.

"Did he send you here?" Josh asked.

"Yes." He admitted. Tyler eyed him suspiciously.

"Why are you here?" 

Mark looked at him confusedly. "I just told you. Magneto sent me here."

Josh rolled his eyes. "I know that. I asked why. Why did Magneto send you here?" Mark remained silent. "I suggest you tell me or else you're going to get hurt."

Sighing, Mark answered. "I was told to mess up your relationship." He admitted. Glancing at each other, Tyler and Josh wondered the same thing.

"Why?"

"He said Xavier has taken a liking to you. He wanted me to break the bond you two have in hopes that one of you would quit the new group Xavier made because you're both powerful."

"Is that it?"

"He wanted me to spy as well." Bitting his lip, Josh nodded, inhaling sharply.

"Okay. Let him go." Josh released  his grip on Mark, and the latter quickly stood up, trying to exit as fast as possible. "Wait! Mark!" Tyler yelled out.

Cautiously, Mark turned around. "Yes?"

"W-why do you stay there? Since he forces y-you to do things like that, I mean."

"I didn't really have a choice. My parents kicked me out because they thought I was a freak. Magneto took me in. He fed me and made sure I had clothes. I have to be loyal to him for that."

"Oh. Alright. Thanks Mark." Tyler dismissed him.

Letting out a breathe of relief, Josh spoke. "Jesus christ." 

"D-do we tell Charles?" 

Josh considered it. "Not yet." He decided. "I wanna hold you for a little bit." He murmured.

A smile made way into Tyler's face. He couldn't say no to that. He made grabby hands as Josh stood up. Picking him up, Josh laid him down on his bed when they had reached his room. He climbed in next to him, pulling Tyler onto his chest.

"What about class?" Tyler asked nervously.

"Who cares? I'd rather hold you, baby."


	17. nails

The aircraft, nicknamed Blackbird was almost intimidating. It was a large black jet, and although it looked fantastic, what was on the outside didn't matter. It was the inside that was concerning.

Blackbird flew through the air faster than any plane could. It was a beautiful display, honestly. Anyone who had the privilege to see it would be amazed by the incredible model.

Along with a few enhancements, the model was almost the same exact one that Hank McCoy built years ago. One of the favorite enhancements of the many who went aboard this plane would be the weapons armed with it. No one from X-Men was typically violent, but missiles were always a helpful tool went they went under attack, of course. 

Tyler was strapped in the harness, his frail hands gripping the soft padding around the metal bars as the jet started moving downward. He heard a yelp from another one of the passengers, Millie to be exact, and he figured sending her calming thoughts would do both of them good. She would feel calmer, and he would have a distraction.

Sure, the pilots on this plane knew exactly what they were doing, but that didn't ease Tyler's unfriendly anxiety. This jet was moving in all sorts of directions, and Tyler wasn't used to the commotion. Not even a roller coaster could compare to this.

Josh was nowhere to be found. For Tyler at least. Technically, Tyler knew where he was, but he wasn't going to get up to go to him. Definitely not when the jet was doing all sorts of crazy things. Tyler also realized that he wasn't invited to go with him because Josh asked a specific group of people to tag along with him to wherever on jet he desired to go. More specifically, Brendon, Jenna, Debby, Scarlett, Pete, and Ashley. 

After a few moments, Tyler became of knowledge that Melanie knew what Josh was saying, somehow. She was talking to him as a distraction, and Tyler immediately realized that Josh didn't want Tyler to hear what he was saying. 

Of course that made Tyler's anxiety spike up, although with the raging insecurities. He couldn't help but feel like he was doing something wrong, even though he wasn't. Part of him wondered if Josh thought he was too young to talk about whatever they were talking about. Another part thought Josh was secretly mad and didn't forgive him for what happened two weeks ago, (which wasn't his fault, as he was tricked along with Josh) and was talking about him to their friends.

Obviously Tyler was hoping that none of that was true, and the stupid conclusions were just a side effect of his brain being nervous. Melanie seemed to understand why he was upset, and platonically interlaced their hands.

"You know, he's not talking about you." It seemed that Melanie stole Tyler's powers as she said he words. "Well, I mean, technically, he is. But not bad. He's just worried and doesn't want you to know about it."

Tyler looked in the direction he saw Josh go, sighing quietly. "W-why can't he talk to me a-about that? Isn't that what boyf–" Mid sentence, Tyler stopped. He had never asked himself the question until just now, when his brain almost made him say the word. Where they boyfriends? Could they be considered boyfriends? Tyler sighed, looking down at his lap. He corrected himself. "Isn't that what friends d-do?"

Melanie either didn't notice the slip up or was kind enough not to question it, because she didn't acknowledge it, which Tyler felt grateful for. "Yes, but doesn't want you to think he worries too much." She explained.

Brown eyebrows furrowed, a confused look gracing Tyler's face. "W-what? Why?" 

Smiling, Melanie elaborated. "He wants to make sure your safe, Tyler. Remember, he really didn't want you to be part of this group in the first place." 

Nodding, Tyler let the reminder sink it. "Right." He hesitantly replied. 

It slightly made him upset, but Tyler knew Josh meant no harm when he said he didn't want Tyler to be in Group 21. Simply, he just didn't want Tyler to get hurt. He appreciated that more than anything. 

Meanwhile, Josh was nervously pacing around the room he was in, his friends trying to calm him down. He ran a hand through his naturally red hair, his red eyes locking with Scarlett's blue ones. He let out sigh, burying his face in the crook of her neck when she pulled him in for an embrace.

When Josh pulled back, he stared out at the sky through the window. "I'm sorry I dragged you all into this. It's really stupid." He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Josh, you're just worried about him. It's okay to be upset." Ashley assured him, offering a smile.

"The thing is," He began, sighing again. "They've been spying on us. They know what Tyler's capable of. He's going to be a main target." Josh attempted to explain. 

"Tyler will be okay." Jenna assured him, an odd look on her face. "You have a force field, right?" She questioned.

Nodding, Josh confirmed his answer. "Yes....why?"

"You can use your force field to protect Tyler." Ashley said, a look of realization coming across her face.

"Well," Brendon dictated, looking towards Josh. "It really depends...He may not be capable of continuously holding a force field on Tyler whilst using his other power."

Pete furrowed his eyebrows and Scarlett considered Brendon's words. "I'm sure he could do it." Pete voiced.

"I am as well, but it will most certainly take a lot of energy. As well as focus. You can't worry about Tyler when this starts. You'll lose focus and Tyler will wind up getting hurt." Brendon revealed.

Debby sighed, and Josh could sense her nervousness. He pulled her in for a hug. He gently ran his hands through her hair and kissed her head. It wasn't romantic, and they both knew that. Simply, it was just to soothe Debby. They were still close, and they were both aware that the gesture was platonic.

"It's going to be okay. You know, if you get scared you can just teleport right back to school. Or anywhere, really. If someone's coming at you, teleport them really high so they fall. Or you can teleport away from them. Maybe you could go behind them, and then when they get confused, you can sucker punch them."

Debby grinned at that, her bright teeth showing. "Thanks for the suggestion." She whispered. "I'm just worried about everyone. But so is everyone else. I shouldn't let this get to me."

"We're all going to be fine, love." He assured her. 

"I hope so," Jenna replied distantly, sliding down against the walls and sitting on the floor.

"Jen, are you okay? You've been acting strange all morning." Ashley observed, taking a seat next to her.

The blonde's' eyes widened. She quickly turned back into her natural form, her skin turning blue and her eyes turning a bright yellow. "Yes-yes. I'm fine. Just...nervous." She looked down, fumbling with her fingers nervously. 

The plane suddenly shifted, making the friends all move towards the right, helplessly falling.  Scarlett yelped as she fell, laughing afterwards. Josh fell right on top of Debby, a blush on Josh's face when their heads knocked into each other. Brendon fell right onto Jenna, making her laugh. 

Pete let out laugh, helping Ashley up, along with Jenna. "Let's go get harnessed." He suggested, helping the others up. 

Once Josh had gotten into the room everyone else was in, he saw Tyler chatting with Hayley, who was sitting across from him. He smiled at Tyler, walking over to him. 

"Hey, angel." Placing his hands on Tyler's thighs, he spoke softly. 

Tyler looked up, a blush on his face at the pet name. "Hi." The brunette said quietly.

"I wasn't trying to be mean or anything when I asked them to come in there with me, Ty." It was like Josh could sense why Tyler was slightly upset. "I just didn't want you to tell me I was being overprotective. I'm worried about you. I want you to be safe." He admitted.

A light peach color coated the younger boys face as he nodded. "I w-wish you would j-just talk to me about it." Tyler confessed.

"I didn't want to annoy you or anything. I really didn't want you to think that I don't think you're capable, because I do. I just overthink and I'm scared that someone will hurt you." Tyler realized that none of this was a lie when he started to hear Josh's thoughts.

"I c-can hear your thoughts." Tyler pointed out.

A smile came across Josh's face. "Read my mind."

Tyler concentrated on Josh's thoughts only. His heart began to beat faster as he heard what Josh was thinking. "You're t-thinking about m-me."

Tyler was right. "What about you?"

Tyler covered his face to conceal his blush. "Josh," He dragged out his name, whining.

"Tell me, baby."

"You said you think that I'm beaut-beautiful." Tyler mumbled, his hands remaining on his face.

"What was that?" Josh questioned, although he heard him.

"I know you heard me, s-s-silly." Tyler grinned, taking his hands off his face.

The plane shifted again, making Josh nearly topple over. He was the only one not harnessed, and Tyler was getting nervous because of it. Josh wasn't thinking about that though. His thoughts were focused on Tyler. 

"Maybe you should go s-sit," Frowning, Tyler suggested. 

Sighing, Josh nodded. He leaned over, pressing a soft kiss Tyler's lips. He squeezed Tyler's hand three times before walking away to his seat. The assigned seat was luckily right across from Tyler, so they were able to see each other. Tyler could talk to him in his mind if he wanted, but he was hearing Jenna's thoughts and it distracted him.

"Jenna?" He called out, looking over at her blue body. She looked over at him, smiling. "What are you go-going to miss?" Jenna's eyebrows furrowed, and she had realized Tyler was hearing her thoughts. 

Fear flashed in her eyes. "The suspense." Tyler read her mind again. She was lying. 

"Why are you lying?" 

"Tyler, stop reading my mind." She commanded, furrowing her eyebrows.

"What are y-you hiding?" He retorted, focusing on her mind only.

She started shapeshifting into Tyler. "What are you hiding?" She repeated. 

The action left Tyler utterly confused. Within seconds she was back into what she used to look like before she was a mutant. Her blue eyes were trained to the floor, and her blonde hair fell in front of her face. 

"Jenna," Tyler tried to read her mind again, but she wasn't thinking about whatever she was hiding anymore. Tyler sighed looking over at Josh instead. 

Before Josh could ask Tyler what was wrong, Charles came in the room.  "We're almost there. We mustn't be afraid of what's to come. I know you are all very capable of defeating them. Remember that they don't know that we're coming. This could work out on our favor greatly."

Tyler looked at the old man, his anxiety taking over his courage. Tyler wasn't showing it, but he was so scared. What if they somehow found out? What if someone gets hurt? Everything was so unpredictable, and that scared Tyler.

"Landing!" Tyler heard one of the pilots yell. Gripping on the harness tighter, Tyler sharply inhaled.

"Relax, Ty." Melanie gripped his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. 

The land was steady for the most part. It turned a bit to the right, and when the wheels reached the ground it was about rough, but overall, it was steady. The force and air from the jet made leaves and the surrounding area blow away. Animals sprinted away at the sound and sight of the jet.

The doors of the jet opened as the harnesses released. Everyone began piling out, all of them waiting for Charles for direction. 

"This is the first real test for you all. I will know if I can trust you as a group to defend the school and anything necessary. This includes finding where they are." Everyone nodded, their hearts racing. "Go now. I wish you luck."

Tyler looked over to Josh who walked over to him, kissing his lips. "We can do this." Josh assured him. 

"I can hear them." Spencer informed the group.

"Which direction?" Nicole asked.

Tyler looked over at her, his brown eyes locking with her bright blue ones. "That way." Spencer directed. Everyone followed Spencer, which made him somewhat nervous. 

Tyler  looked over at Josh, staring into his red glowing  eyes. He began to feel calm at the sight of him, sighing softly.

After a few minutes of running in the in damp quiet forest, everyone was starting to hear things. Of course Spencer was already hearing things before, but now Tyler could actually hear voices and such. 

The mutants must have known they were coming, judging by the tree falling down near the group. It nearly hit Millie, causing her to jump. Ashton noticed her fearful expression, and picked her up. Millie quietly wrapped her arms around his neck, along with her legs around his waist. Tyler could tell it comforted her. 

Everybody's thoughts were starting to get really anxious. Sighing quietly, he sent calming thoughts to everyone in the group. Noticing the thoughts around him eased, he felt slightly accomplished. Josh realized the action, smiling at him.

"Thank you, angel." He whispered into his ear.

"They're close." Tyler warned. 

As they began running again, they all started to notice there was less trees surrounding them. Did the mutants know they were coming before today? They couldn't have, right?

"Tyler, wait!" Both Josh and Tyler stopped at the sound of Jenna's voice, along with everyone else's in the group. "You guys can go. I'll only be a second." Josh looked at Tyler for reassurance, not wanting to leave if Tyler didn't want him to. Nodding, Tyler shifted his gaze, his eyes on the blonde headed girl.

"Is e-everything okay?" Concerned,  Tyler questioned.

"I just–I have to do this." Tyler was confused by what she meant until she locked their lips together, her hands on both of his cheeks. He was stunned, to shocked to push away and to confused to reciprocate the action. She pulled away quickly, not taking a second glance as she started running in the direction everyone else was. 

Tyler let the action sink in for a few moments, multiple feelings washing over him. Is that what she was thinking about earlier? Why did she have to do that? She was acting like she'd never see him again. It was so weird. This whole situation was weird.

As much Tyler wanted to mourn over the recent events, he knew it wouldn't be logical. Not right now, at least. Sighing, he started running back up to the group. 

He looked at Jenna, who only looked away. He ran over to Josh. He wanted to tell him what happened, but he couldn't right now. That would distract him. 

All of them stopped running when they realized they were in front of an empty field. It was so odd. Fear arose in everyone in the group as mutants started walking out from the trees. 

"We're so glad of you to join us." Magneto's voice rang through their ears. 

So they were expecting them. How did they find out? Tyler looked at Josh, who looked back him with the same expression. Confusion. It seemed like that was all Tyler was feeling at the moment. It was better than fear, though.

"I've heard so much about you all. Especially you, Tyler." Magneto looked right at him, and the confusion was gone. Fear was definitely not his friend.

"Jenna, why don't you tell them what you've been doing?" Magneto's voice was chilling. Everyone looked at the blonde, who quickly shape shifted into her natural form. Her yellow eyes pierced into Tyler's.

However, Jenna remained silent. Expectantly, Josh looked back over to Magneto. "Why don't you tell us?" Josh argued. 

"Perhaps I will." He took a step closer to them. "Jenna, get over here." The young girl quickly went to him, cringing from the harsh grip he had on her wrists. "You see, Jenna here, as been my little insider. I know what each of you do and I knew you were coming here, thanks to her."

Josh's heart ached. He'd known Jenna for over two years, and she betrayed him like this. He didn't understand. All he thought was the same question—why. None of this was adding up. 

Melanie, Ashley, and Debby's mouths were all agape. Jenna had been their best friend for such a long time. Was all of that fake? Had all of their time together meant nothing? 

Brendon looked absolutely shocked. Tyler could hear his thoughts, and it had actually pained him. Brendon was in love with her, and she was a spy.  It had slightly confused Tyler, because he thought that Brendon liked him. Had Tyler just been a distraction to stop thinking about Jenna? That seemed like a logical explanation. It didn't matter right now, though.

"After all I've done for you, Jenna? You do this to us? Did you want us to die?" Brendon called out, his eyes watering. Josh looked over at him sympathetically.

Tyler didn't know what to think. But he knew what to do. Fight. Within a few seconds, he managed to get the same message in the group's head (minus Jenna of course).

Go. 

That word, that simple word had triggered everything. All hell broke lose, honestly. Josh let go of Tyler and began running towards them.

Screams could be heard and blood could be seen. Electric bolts flew into the ground while grass caught on fire. Some of it was put out by water, while some of it burned others.

Josh's red eyes were trained on a girl who had been glaring at him the entire time. Grabbing her body, he forcefully shoved his hands around her neck, burning a bit of the flesh off. Josh made a fireball in his hand, opening the girl's mouth, and shoving it down her throat. He dropped her body, looking for Tyler, just to make sure he was okay. His eyes widened as he saw him staring intensely at a boy with brown hair, who fell in seconds. Josh knew he had snapped his neck.

Jon was right near Tyler, reminding himself to stay clear of Josh because fire and water don't go together. Jon had seen someone sneaking up on the sixteen year old, and quickly grabbed them. He put his hands over the boy's face, filling his mouth and nose with water until he stopped struggling.

A huge lightning strike hit someone in back, making them collapse. Patrick grinned at the action, feeling somewhat accomplished. He created a smaller one this time, the electrifying glow exciting him. He threw it at the person's head, and she became limp. 

Nicole and Scarlett were working together. The latter was distracting their victims with her shiny diamond body, while Nicole made herself invisible, pushing them down from the front while Scarlett used her sharp skin to slice their throats.

Brendon was playing mind tricks on the mutants brains while Spencer sneak up from behind and attacked them. They had a great system going.

Ashely was distracting many of the mutants with her voice. Melanie kept slitting her throat, her powers making it only affect the person she was targeting. 

Debby listened to Josh. She kept grabbing people's hands and leaving them in random locations. She had already went the to 4 different countries. Every single time she teleported someone she'd say 'have fun!' before vanishing back to where everyone else was.

All of their actions were skilled and well thought out, all of the group being rather successful. No one from the group had never such adrenaline for doing something like this. It may have seemed violent (which wasn't wrong, as they were killing people) but they were doing the right thing.

Tyler was focusing on protect Josh at the moment. Someone was sneaking up on Josh as shot out of his warm hands. Quickly, Tyler made the girl stop moving, and she could no longer move. His brown eyes watched her closely, his eyebrows furrowing as a few people began staring in his direction.

"Tyler!" He heard Debby yell. 

Josh turned around quickly, feeling his heart stop in chest as he saw Tyler collapse. The fire in his hands vanished as he ran over to him. Blood was all over his body, and Josh didn't react for a few seconds. He couldn't. How was he supposed to? Everything had just fallen apart in seconds. How was he supposed to know what to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall gon hate me
> 
> To avoid confusion, when I say 'the mutants' I am referring to those on Magneto's side. When I say 'the group' I am referring to Group Twenty One. 
> 
> Start the song! It's Clear by twenty one pilots. (aka my entire world)


	18. blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> includes gore and references suicide. stay safe.

Tyler went to turn around, but was suddenly struck in shoulder with something. Before Tyler could even process what had happened, another object hit him in the back, going straight through his body. He let out a gasp at the feeling. Everything began to slow down, and all Tyler could think about was the throbbing pain he was feeling in his chest and shoulder. This had to hurt more than bullet. 

Raging pain shot through his body as he let out a sob. He felt his body began to tremble as thoughts raced through his mind. Was he going to die? Despite everything feeling like it was moving way to fast, Tyler remained still. Staring at the blue sky, he heard voices screaming his name. Tyler tried to move, but he couldn't. Everything was becoming numb. Faintly, he could hear Josh's voice. 

"You're going to be okay. You're okay, Ty." Josh said shakily.

Tyler could still hear his thoughts. He must've looked a lot worse than he thought. Josh seemed to wonder if Tyler was going to die too, which only scared him more. "You're okay." That was the last thing Tyler heard before his eyes slipped shut. 

"Tyler? Come on, Ty. Wake up." Melanie said, her eyes starting to water.

"Fuck!" Josh cursed. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to win. Was this some sort of sick joke? How could Tyler be dying? None of this made sense. 

"Josh, I'll take him back to the jet, get everyone." Debby said quickly, applying pressure on the wound closest to his heart.

"We can't just stop fighting. We have to stay and fight this." Ashley said, staring at Tyler's pale body.

Unable to control himself, Josh got up, letting as much fire release from his hands as he wanted. The ground was burning now. He'd get revenge. Just not today. Tyler was more important. This could wait. They had to make sure Tyler was okay. 

"Josh stop!" He didn't listen. He couldn't. They hurt Tyler.

"Please!" The fire wouldn't stop. It didn't want to. It was taking control.

Jon watched, panicked. He quickly made a force field of water, trying to protect everyone from the group. The fire left a small hole in the force field, but the fire wasn't hurting anyone from the group, so it didn't matter.

"Josh," Nicole said quickly, fear in her eyes as she stared at his fire. "What's more important?" She questioned. "Killing them? Or saving Tyler?" The words made Josh come back to himself. His hands were shaking.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Go to him. We can fight this." Nicole promised, making Josh shake his head. 

"I know you're right. But I can't. Let me kill them."

"Josh, Tyler's going to d–" Nicole tried to reason.

"Then fucking leave without me!" He cursed. Fire started coming out of his hands. He smiled at the sight of it. 

Seconds later, the entire area was in flames. Trees burn so easily. Josh sighed, feeling accomplished. It almost looked like an explosion. Josh had never felt so glad to have this power in his life. He wondered how many mutants he killed in those few seconds. 

Running back over to Tyler, Josh felt bile in his throats from seeing so much of his blood. "Josh we–" Melanie started. 

Not listening to what she had to stay, he picked up the unconscious boy, sprinting towards the jet. His hands shook as he ran, but that didn't slow him down. Charles was standing at the entrance, his eyes widening at sight. "He's dying. What do you have that can help him right now?" He said quickly, laying his body on the floor, not caring if blood got on his hands. 

Everyone started piling in the jet, all looking frantic and concerned about Tyler. He heard multiple questions regarding if he was okay, but he didn't answer any. Tears streamed down his face as held Tyler's wounds. 

"We have to him back to the academy." Charles exited the room, walking near the front of the jet, likely to to tell the pilots to begin flying. 

He heard the younger boy cough, making him look down with wide eyes. "Tyler?" The brunettes eyes opened, spitting blood out of mouth.

"Am I g-g-gonna die?" He asked quietly, his eyes tearing.

"Baby, no. Please don't think like that." Josh said quickly, kissing his lips despite the blood on them.

When Josh pulled away, he let out a loud cough, spitting more blood out. "Y-you're t-thinking bad." He observed, smiling sadly. His teeth were covered in blood, and Josh's hands started shaking rapidly.

"I'm trying not to. You're just scaring me. Do you think you can stay awake for me?" He tried to speak calmly, not wanting Tyler to panic more.

Sighing, Tyler shook his head. A tear left his eye as he stared up at Josh with anxiety. "Am I a hero?" He whispered.

Nodding frantically, Josh let out a weak laugh. He wiped the tears from his eyes and the blood from his mouth. "Of course you are, baby."

"Well I don't mind, then," He whispered, his voice sounded slightly dejected.

"What do you mean?" Josh furrowed his brows.

Those words made Tyler smile. "It's okay t-then." He said softly while Josh furrowed his eyebrows. "This is h-how heroes go." He smiled, his eyes slightly closing.

Josh shook his head, feeling panic rise in his chest. "No. No, Tyler. Don't say that. That's not supposed to happen. Not to you. Not like this. We're supposed to live happily ever after and play with our cat and do stupid things for no reason. You aren't dying on me." Josh cried, pressing Tyler's wounds a bit harder.

"Can you h-hold my hand?" He asked, his voice small.

"Someone help me hold these cuts together!" Josh quickly said. Ashley quickly sat down next to him, holding the wound on his shoulder tightly. Josh intertwined their hands, squeezing it.

"Joshie, m' s-s-sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, baby." Josh assured him, leaning down and kissing his lips gently.

"We need to get whatever he got hit with out of him." Brendon told Josh quietly.

"Can we wait?" Josh didn't want Tyler to be in more pain. 

Brendon shook his head, glancing sympathetically at the boy. "We have a higher chance of saving him if we get it out. It's going to hurt him like hell, though." The raven haired boy warned. 

"Here's the aid kit." Debby handed the rather large kit to Brendon, and Josh's heart raced. Inside of it was gauze, bandages, rubbing alcohol, tongs, needles, multiple medications, medical tape, IV's suturing supplies, and a few other items. 

"This is fantastic." The brown eyed boy mumbled, staring at the kid in fascination. This would greatly help him with Tyler.

Josh trusted Brendon with this. Brendon was so intelligent. He would have to listen to what Brendon did carefully though, or else this could become much worse. 

"Melanie can save his life, Bren. We need to get her blood in his system. He may not be able to die if we do this fast." Quickly nodding, Brendon called Melanie over. 

"I need someone to help hold Tyler's wounds closed." Scarlett quickly walked over. 

"Where to I press?" Brendon showed Scarlett where to apply pressure as Melanie sat down next to him. 

"I need to take your blood. We're going to try to inject your blood into his body because we think it may keep him alive."

Melanie didn't entirely understand how it would work, but she nodded anyway. "That's fine."

"We need a bottle. We have to put the blood somewhere." Searching the aid kit for anything they could use, Josh was unsuccessful.

"What about a water bottle?" Calum questioned, a water bottle in his left hand. Everyone looked over to Brendon. 

Shrugging, Brendon looked over to Tyler. "I guess that can work. Make sure it's completely empty." He told them, grabbing Melanie's arm.

Melanie didn't even flinch as Brendon slid the metal into her arm. The tube attached to the needle soon began filling with blood, and Josh quickly handed Brendon the water bottle before more blood could spill.

"Josh, you need to distract Tyler for me, okay?" The words made Josh's heart race. He nodded anyway. "We need to flip him over so I can get the bullets out of his body. Josh, help me do it." Brendon counted to three, and they had gently flipped Tyler on to his stomach. 

The sixteen year old whimpered. "Josh!" He cried out. His voice was strained, and it only hurt Josh more.

"Baby, I'm so sorry that you're in pain." He grabbed Tyler's hand again, squeezing it. 

"Ashton, can you rip this off?" Brendon asked him, referring to Tyler's uniform. Nodding, Ashton's strong hands gripped it. It was torn in two in seconds. 

Blood was all over Tyler's back, but Brendon could still see the wounds. "Scarlett, keep the cut on his shoulder closed. Debby, I need you to help me spread his skin so I can get this out. Ashley, sing to him. He needs to calm down."

Everyone did as told, and Josh was holding Tyler's hand as tight as he could. Grabbing the tongs, Debby spread open the ripped skin. Brendon placed the tongs in Tyler's back, trying to find the bullet.

Tyler whimpered. "It hurts." His eyes began shutting.

"God damn it." Brendon cursed, unable to find the bullet in Tyler's upper back. "Ash, sing louder." 

"This will all be over soon, Angel. Keep your eyes open for me, okay?"

Tyler opened his eyes, squeezing Josh's hand. "O-okay."

"Do you want me to see if I can see through his skin? I can try to help you find the bullet." Troye offered.

Nodding, Brendon looked up gratefully. "Thanks."

Sticking the tongs in Tyler's upper back again, Brendon waited for Troye to tell him if he was close. "It's a lot deeper than that." Brendon pushed the tongs two inches deeper in Tyler. "You're close. A little to the right." 

Everyone watched anxiously, and Josh wasn't sure how Brendon, Debby, Scarlett, or Troye had the ability to stay so calm while doing it. There was a life in their hands. 

"Joshie?" Tyler called out. His voice was strained, and he attempted to take a deep breath.

"Yes?" 

"I l-love you." Tyler's voice was just above a whisper.

Josh's heart stopped. Was this Tyler's way of saying goodbye to him? Did Tyler think he was going to die? Is that why he was telling Josh this? 

Shoving the negative thoughts away, he bent down, kissing Tyler's head. "I love you too, angel."

"Got it!" Brendon said quickly, staring at the object. It wasn't a bullet at all. It was a nail. Everyone gasped at the sight of it, including Josh. Blood began spilling out of Tyler's mouth and upper back. He coughed, his eyes tearing up. 

"Wait," Debby said cautiously. "Isn't that where his lung is?" 

Tyler's eyes fell shut, immediately making Josh panic. "Tyler!" No response. "Tyler, please." Josh grabbed his hand, shaking it. "Tyler don't do this." He said shakily. He tried to take a deep breath. "Baby, please," He whispered. 

"That's why he's coughing! Brendon, did his lung collapse?" Scarlett asked fearfully, eyes wide.

"Fuck!" He dropped Tyler's hand, wiping his eyes. 

 

"Josh, you–" Debby began, but was quickly interrupted.

"No," Josh shook his head. "Fuck off." He muttered. Everyone's eyes widened, and Scarlett frowned at him.

"Josh, don't be mad at her. She didn't do anything." Scarlett scolded him, and Josh shook his head.

"I'm s-sorry." He whispered, his shaking hands touching Tyler's limp one.

"I have to flip him over again." Debby didn't respond, focused on the task ahead rather Josh's meaningless words as she flipped Tyler onto his back. Brendon wasn't paying attention to that, as he was flipping Tyler over. He stared at his pale face, dread filling his stomach. If he didn't pull through, he would never forgive himself. Neither would Josh.

Hayley looked up nervously. She looked over at Matty, her eyes watering. "He's breaking." She murmured.

Marty's eyebrows furrowed at her, giving her a strange look. "No he's not."

"Tyler, please!" Josh cried, shaking the boy's head rapidly, tears down his face. "You said you would keep your eyes open." He whispered, his cold hands touching Tyler's cold face. Why was Tyler cold? This wasn't good.

Hayley shook her head. "No, you don't understand. I hear him thinking." The blonde haired girl whispered. 

Tyler's blood was all over Josh's hands. He let out a sob as he tried to open Tyler's eyes. "Oh, come on!" He opened the younger boy's mouth, attempting to perform mouth to mouth. His bloodied hands started pressing down on his heart, pushing up and down as hard as he could as he breathed into Tyler's mouth. 

A confused look from Matty was sent Hayley's way. "What? How?"

Looking down at Tyler's limp body, she bit her lip. "Power mimicry." She muttered. Quietly, Matty grabbed her hand, squeezing it. 

"Baby?" The red haired boy's voice cracked. His whole body was shaking as Brendon tried to figure out what exactly to do. "Please come back to me." He whispered.

"Someone get Josh out of the room." Brendon said, his voice an unreadable tone.

Hurt flashed on Josh's face. "No. Brendon he's going to die. Don't do this to me," He begged, tears streaming down his face. "Please!"

Sighing, Brendon shook his head. "Josh, you aren't stable enough to watch this. You've already seen one of your best friends die. I'm not letting it happen again if Tyler doesn't make it. Ashton please get him out of here."

Ashton walked over to Josh, pulling him with him. Josh cried louder, trying to escape his grip. "Please!" He yelled, his trembling hands attempting to get Ashton's grip off of him. "Tyler!" He yelled louder, and Hayley tried to focus on others' thoughts. Josh was taken into another room, and Ashton quickly locked him in, just in case he tried to get out. "Fuck you!"

Debby wiped her eyes, her own hands shaking as well. "I've never seen him like that. Not even when he saw Dallon."

"He wasn't in love with Dallon. This has to hurt him pretty bad. He's scared of losing people because of what happened to Dal, and he can't deal with the fact that this may happen to Tyler." Scarlett said softly.

"Mel, I need your blood. Ash can you give me the biggest needle you have?" Both girls nodded, Melanie sliding the needle out of her skin and handing the almost completely blood filled water bottle to him. Brendon grabbed the needle, making it fill with blood. Everyone watched fearfully, and Brendon had to make sure his hands weren't shaking. 

Hayley looked over to Matty, her eyes wide. He felt her hand shaking in his. "I can't hear Tyler."

"What?" He asked, although he was sure he understood what she meant.

"I can't hear his thoughts. I can't hear them. Oh my god." She panicked, sliding down against the wall they were standing already against. 

Counting to three in his head, he infected the needle directly where his heart was. Ashley grabbed Melanie's hand, squeezing it. Scarlett let out a sob, unable to wipe her tears because she was holding Tyler's shoulder wound together. He pushed the blood in, closing his eyes as he did it.

Millie sat down by them, grabbing the bottle of blood, holding it so Brendon could easily refill the needle. All eyes were drained onto the needle filled with the crimson liquid. Like before, Brendon counted to three before injecting the blood into Tyler's heart. 

"Melanie, I need you to calm Josh down." With a shaky voice, Brendon told her. He grabbed more blood from the bottle, repeating his process before fully stabbing his heart with her blood.

"Does he have a pulse?" Scarlett asked quickly, looking over to Debby. 

"I'll check," The red haired girl whispered. She grabbed Tyler's small wrist, placing two fingers on it and feeling around for a his radial artery. Allowing her two fingers to stay there, she felt for a pulse. 

Nothing.

"Well?" Ashley asked frantically.

"He doesn't have a pulse. He's de–" Debby eyes watered again, grabbing Tyler's wrist and trying to feel for something.

"Don't!" Brendon wasn't ready to give him. They couldn't say that to him. Not yet. "Ashley, start finding other veins. Put as much blood into him as you can."

"Brendon I don't thin–"

"Don't say it." He gave Ashley a look, and she fell silent. "Please." His voice was cracking, and Ashley could tell he was on the verge of tears. Instead of replying, she did as she was told, which was probably for the better.

"Does anyone have another water bottle?" Melanie calmly inquired. Matty quietly tossed her his water bottle, and she caught it with ease. She thanked him before crawling over to Brendon. "I'll give him more blood." 

"Okay." The brunette replied. She stuck her arm out to Brendon, waiting patiently. Quickly finding her vein, he pushed the IV in without a second thought. The tube began filling with blood, and Melanie was quick to put it in the water bottle. 

"I'll be back when it's filled. I'm going to make sure Josh is okay." She gave Brendon a hug, rubbing his back briefly. "You're doing the best you can. If he doesn't make it it's not your fault." She whispered. It really was the words he needed to hear. The words motivated him to keep trying. He wasn't giving up on Tyler just yet.

When Melanie walked into the room Josh was in, she could physically feel his anxiety and sadness reach her. His brown eyes looked up at the sound subconsciously, slight hope in his eyes. The blue and purple haired girl felt scared to break the news to him. She didn't know if she was supposed to either. 

Hopefully eyes met fearful ones, and Melanie had to look away for a few seconds. The red eyed boy's hands were shaking still, his body in a fetal position as he rocked himself back and forth. Instead of verbally saying it, she just shook her head. Understanding the message immediately, a sob raked from Josh. 

"Josh, please," Melanie felt her eyes watering as she walked over to the red haired boy. She pulled him into her, wrapping the arm that wasn't hooked up to the IV around him, not caring about the blood likely on her now. "You're okay," She assured him.

"But he's not." He cried harder. "I love him, Mel. I love him so much. I didn't say it because I was scared. He said it to me because he knew what I was thinking. He knew what everyone was thinking. For God's sake, Mel, he knew he was dying. He said it because he knew he was dying." Josh gasped from the lack of oxygen, letting out another cry right afterwards.

"No, Honey." The brown eyed girl shook her head. "He said it because he loves you. He wanted you to know it just in case he wouldn't be able to say it again."

"Fuck," He whispered. "Dallon's death hurt nothing like this. This hurts so bad. I don't think I can handle this."

The younger tensed at his last sentence. "Don't say that. You aren't allowed to leave because he might. We aren't saying he's dead yet."

"He's dead, Melanie! Don't you fucking get it? He's dead. You can't bring him back with your blood. That's not how this works. He's dead." Josh cried harder, burying his face in her neck. "Oh my god. He's dead. Melanie, he's dead. Oh gosh." The boy moved away from her, almost as if he was going to infect her with a sickness. 

Could sadness be infective? Is that a sickness? Surely it had to be. That was why it hurt so bad. Josh was just sick right now. He'd feel better eventually. This was okay. Tyler would be okay. Josh would be okay. Right?

The girl's face was filled with confusion at his sudden change of tone and mood. Roughly, she swallowed. Pulling him back into her, she rubbed his back soothingly. Judging him about his behavior wouldn't be wise, nor would commenting about it. His mental state was already jeopardized and he was already breaking down. That would just make it worse.

"They're trying their best to save him." Gently, she spoke. They both didn't notice Pete quietly walking in.

A shaking head lead Melanie to believe that her attempt to soothe him wasn't working. "I was supposed to protect him. I didn't have my force field on him. He died and it's my fucking fault."

"No. Don't start that." Pete muttered, making the two look up.

Melanie frowned at his semi-harsh tone. "Pete, I don't think–"

"He needs someone to knock sense into him. Not pity him." He replied, sitting down next to her. He could sense her anxiety, and he connected the hand she wasn't using to hold Josh with his. "You need to relax. Everything's going to be okay." He told her in a softer tone.

Her brown eyes were wide as her shaking hand squeezed his. Josh let out a quiet sob, and she looked back at him, allowing a few tears to fall. "Please. This is too much." She whispered.

"Josh. This isn't your fault. Magneto was an asshole and he did this to Tyler. Not you. You didn't do this."

"I fucked up." He whimpered, clutching tighter to Melanie as if she was life line. 

"No you didn't." Pete shook his head. "Josh, I love you. And when I say this, I need you to understand it with a clear head. I know that it's gonna hurt, but I'm saying to keep you on track and to help you realize what's important right now."

Nodding, Josh swallowed nervously. "Tell me." He managed to get out.

"You're freaking out about Tyler right now, when you could be helping him come back. You're focusing on freaking out rather than fixing him."

"No. You don't understand," He sputtered, shaking his head. "He's dead."

"We don't know that." Pete tried to tell him.

"I saw it. He died. Right in front of me. His eyes closed and Debby couldn't find his pulse. His heart stopped beating. You're trying to make sure I don't kill myself or something." 

Melanie let out a cry that was so silent, Pete almost didn't hear it. He should've known that Josh would be able to see through him. He'd known him long enough to figure out when he was camouflaging the truth. This had just been another example to prove how well Josh knew him.

"Because I care about you!" Pete argued, his brows furrowing as he looked into red orbs, trying to detect any emotion in them. Sighing, Melanie continued to rub his back. At least she knew arguing with him while he was in this mental state wasn't smart. 

"You aren't helping me!" The red haired boy shouted, making Melanie flinch. He fixed his fine when he spoke again, speaking in a low whisper. "Tyler can help. He's the only one."

"And what will you do if they can't get him back?" The black haired boy fired back. 

Josh remained silent after those words, and Pete and Melanie could tell what his response would've been. She let out a quiet cry and Pete felt his chest strain at the thought of Josh no longer being around. Melanie looked at him fearfully, and Josh could tell what she thinking.

"I was going to try a few days after Dallon." He croaked. Melanie squeezed his hand. "She talked me out of it." He said, a undetectable tone in his voice. "I wish she didn't." He muttered.

"I've already lost one of my best friends today. There's no way in hell I'm losing you too." Melanie shook her head.

"You can't leave because he does. That's not fair to us. We need you around. We love you, Josh. You can't leave us. This is already hard because of Tyler." Pete explained, his brown eyes staring at the floor of the jet.

"T-Then why is no one affected by it?" He asked with a scoff, his eyed releasing fresh tears.

"We're trying to protect you. Everyone out there is crying, Josh. But they're wiping their tears and keeping their shit together to try to save him." 

Josh let out a weak laugh. "They're trying to save a dead person." He muttered. "Great. Fucking fantastic."

Melanie noticed the water bottle was filled when she looked down at her and Pete's connected hands. "Go give this to them. I'm going to calm him down." She ordered.

Pete didn't reply. Simply, he slid the IV from her arm and walked out of the room with the blood bottle and the IV tubes. Once the door shut, Josh broke down again.

"I miss him so much. He asked me if he was going die. I lied to him. I didn't think he would. He died thinking he would be okay. Oh god, Mel. This hurts so bad. This hurts so much more than Dallon." He wheezed, throwing his head back against the wall. 

Melanie climbed on top of him, her legs on the sides of his. Her gentle hands grabbed his face, and she pulled him down to make eye contact with her. "It's going to be okay. I don't know when. But it will." Josh pulled her in, crying louder. 

They had both felt the Jet move, and Melanie had realized they were landing. She didn't know if it would be a good thing or not, but she said a silent prayer in her head as she climbed off of Josh and helped him up. 

If she didn't want Josh to see Tyler's body, she would have to be careful. He was going to want to get out as quick as possible, and she needed to prevent that from happening.

In the other room, Brendon looked over at Ashton. Their eye contact allowed Ashton to know what he wanted, which was help with carrying Tyler. As they lifted up the body, Ashley jabbed another needle into his chest, letting out a weak cry. When the doors opened, they quickly rushed his body out, majority of the group following him. Debby stayed back, going into the room with Josh and Melanie.

Silent eye contact told the blue and purple haired girl that Tyler was no longer in the room. That didn't stop the whimper Josh let out when he saw all of the blood and supplies on the floor. The two girls urged Josh to keep going, helping him walk past the reminder and exit the jet safely.

Many eyes were on them as they ran through the school. It felt like it was slow motion, but Josh knew that it was just his brain messing with him. He didn't blame the students for staring. There was blood all over the three of them. He couldn't imagine their faces when they had seen Tyler. As he followed everyone else, so many questions popped in his head. 

He didn't know how to react to anything he was dealing with. The eyes on him weren't helping. In fact, the eyes only made his heart beat faster. Anxiety wasn't being friendly.

The giant clinic filled with skilled doctors started grabbing at him and the other two girls, pulling them apart. He felt his eyes water at the loss of Debby's hand. The doctor wasn't as gentle as Melanie was when he sat him up on the table. He pulled the curtains closed, increasing his anxiety more.

"W-where's Tyler?" He asked, his voice cracking.

"I'm not sure. He's with another doctor right now, I'm sure." The doctor said calmly. He didn't understand. This doctor had no idea that Tyler wasn't breathing. He didn't have a pulse. His eyes were closed. This doctor didn't know that.

"Okay." He said weakly.

"Let's get you checked, and then cleaned up, okay?"

"Okay." Josh whispered.


	19. anticipation

Steady hands squeezed shaking one's for reassurance. Black hair fell in Ashley's face as she climbed on top of Josh, hugging him tightly. He let out a shaky whine, and Debby grabbed one of his hands, squeezing it. 

Debby and Ashley were just trying to help him. He definitely knew it was working, even if he didn't want to admit it. Part of him wanted to push them away, claiming only Tyler could help. Which in way, was slightly true. However, they could and were helping Josh, nonetheless. If it weren't for them, he'd being having a non stop panic attack. He probably would've punished himself for letting Tyler down, too. 

Another part of him appreciated what the two girls were doing. Josh had unfortunately come to terms with the fact that Tyler wasn't and couldn't be here to comfort him, and he was unconditionally grateful his other best friends were. That part of him was glad he had never had the chance to be alone, because he wasn't thinking straight, and irrational thoughts led to irrational actions.

"Can we go in his room?" He whimpered against Ashley's neck.

"Of course, love." Ashley assured him, climbing off of his lap and helping him stand up. Debby followed them as well, her eyes trailed against the floor, a bad feeling settling in her chest. Josh didn't blush at the pet name, as he knew it was a platonic comforting gesture, and nothing else. When they had gotten into Tyler's room, Josh collapse on his bed, let out a soft cry.

"Do you want me to lay with you—" Debby began, but Josh interrupted.

"Both of you," The red haired boy pleaded quietly. "Please." He whispered. His teary red eyes peered over to the two girls who both began climbing in the bed with him.

The black haired girl laid on his left side while the reddish orange haired girl laid on his right. Both of the girls hugged him, their heads in the crook of his neck.

"You're okay," Debby promised him, running a hand through his hair. It would be a lie to say that the action didn't soothe him. He practically melted against their touch. It still didn't make him forget about Tyler, though. Then again, could anything make him forget about Tyler?

He suddenly wished Melanie was here with him as well. More loneliness settled in his chest as he thought about her. In all honesty, she was the one who could comfort him the best, besides Tyler. Josh knew that she would always be the person he would go to when he didn't feel mentally well. He hadn't seen her since yesterday, and he was craving her soothing words and warm eyes. 

Ashely and Debby exchanged eye contact when they had noticed Josh's hands shaking faster. Both of them knew what was to come. A panic attack was beginning.

"I w-want Mel," He begged, gasping from lack of air. "P-please. I need her."  He managed to get out before wheezing again. 

Ashley slipped out her phone, pressing Melanie's contact as fast as she could. The phone rung two times before she answered.

"Hey, beautiful." She said cheerily. It had made Josh miss Tyler desperately. He wanted to call him cute pet names and make him smile.

Despite the situation, Ashley couldn't help the blush that formed on her cheeks. "Hey. Where are you?" She asked quickly, squeezing Josh's hand.

"I'm giving blood to Tyler. Why?"

The sound of his name had really triggered it. Everyone had realized that saying Tyler's name made Josh upset. But Melanie didn't know Josh was there.

He let out a sob, and Debby sat up and pulled his head into her lap. "Honey, it's okay. Don't cry." She told him gently. 

"Oh, god. Is that Josh? Is he okay?"

"No. He said he wanted you." Ashley helplessly replied, feeling her eyes well up with tears at the sight of Josh. 

"Damn it. I have like...five more minutes, maybe? Can I talk to him? Wait, let me ask if I can go." 

"Okay.." The black haired girl mumbled. 

A muffled conversation could be heard, along with a quiet sigh. "He said five minutes." Melanie shuffled in her seat, her eyes glancing over to Tyler, sighing again. "Let me talk to him."

Ashley nodded, forgetting that Melanie couldn't see her. "She's on the phone. She can come in five minutes, okay?" Ashley spoke to Josh as if he was child, but she wasn't being rude or anything like that. She was just telling him slower so he could process it, and softer so he would be more calm.

It seemed to slightly work, as she heard him take a deep breath. Melanie could tell by breathing that Josh was now on the line. "Hey, honey. How are you feeling?" 

Ashley noticed that Josh visibly relaxed at the sound of her voice. He was still shaking and his breathing wasn't normal, but it was helping. Melanie was helping. 

Josh let out a shaky sigh. "I-I–Not good." He said quietly, feeling Debby squeeze his hand. "C-can you c-come when you're done?" 

"Of course. Let's try to make sure you breathe right first, though, okay?"

"Okay." He whispered, his eyes shutting.

"Breathe in for 1, 2, 3," Josh silently did as he was told. "Now breathe out for 1, 2, 3, 4." 

"How many m-minutes until you can c-come?" He struggled to get out. He was definitely holding back his tears, and Melanie could tell by his breathing and stuttering.

"Really soon, sweetheart. Only three minutes." She whispered, her voice hopeful. 

"Fuck," He muttered, his eyes squeezing shut. "Please hurry. I need you to help me." 

Melanie let out a sigh. "I'd say to let Debby teleport you here, but I don't want you to see him." She informed in a soft tone.

Josh winced at her words. "How's he look?" He muttered.

"Not too good." She honestly replied. "He's still pale and his lips are kinda blue." The sentence tugged at Josh's heart. He still looked dead. That made sense though. You obviously would look dead if were dead.

He breathing started getting shakier. "O-o-okay." He whispered.

"Josh, I can't keep give you updates on Ty–him if this is going to happen." She admitted, changing her wording when she almost said Tyler's name.

"I k-know, I know. I'm sorry." He mumbled, turning his head to face Debby's torso.

"I'm almost done." She reported. "You aren't breathing right," The blue and purple haired girl pointed out with a sigh. "Smell the roses, blow out the candles."

"T-trying." He breathed out, his eyes shutting as Ashley squeezed his hand.

"You're doing great, honey." She encouraged him. The praise increased his calmness, but only by a bit.

"You are." Debby agreed, running a hand through his curly hair.

Josh heard shuffling through the phone, and he glanced at it. He tried to see how long they had been talking, but his teary eyes couldn't read the small numbers signifying how long the call had been. Closing his eyes, Josh figured keeping them open wouldn't do much of anything. 

"Like, now?" He heard Melanie's voice. He would have wondered what was going on but he was too shaky to worry about it. His focus was on breathing, which was a good thing. "Oh, okay. Josh?"

Eyelids reluctantly opened before replying. "Y-yeah?" 

"I'm coming now." The words made warmth spread through the red haired boy's body, and a small appeared on his lips, despite the way he was feeling. 

But even with the knowledge that Melanie would be here soon, he still didn't feel good. Unfortunately, he was just getting worse. Bile was prevalent in his throat, his eyes were watering again, and his hands only seemed to jerk more. 

Swallowing the anxiety wasn't a good thing to do whilst in this state of mind. Josh had now come to terms with that. The multiple panic attacks he had had in the last twenty four hours had made him realize that.

Sweat was on his forehead as chest pains began to kick in. A racing heart didn't help the situation, either. He could feel his hands starting to grow numb as well, and it only made everything seem worse. He could hardly feel Ashley and Debby's hands holding his anymore.

The overwhelming fear of Tyler dying had struck his mind again, making everything intensify. Josh kept thinking he, himself, was going to die. But that was normal, for him. Panic attacks were brutal. For Josh, that was a reoccurring thought during his episodes. His pale face made Ashley and Debby nervously exchange glances.

What worried them was that Josh wasn't whimpering or making any sounds. The red eyed boy was just letting his tears fall silently. Debby rubbed his arm, moving over to massage his temples. 

The gasp the shaking boy let out signaled that he had forgotten to breathe. Where was Melanie? Why was she taking so long? Why did this have to hurt so bad?

Tyler.

Everything about Tyler. 

Beautiful brown eyes that had specks of green in them, depending on the lighting. His eyelashes, with or without mascara looked long. When his eyelashes got wet, they would clump together, making him somehow look more innocent. His doe eyes almost never had perfect winged eyeliner, but he still always managed to look incredible. He didn't even need the makeup though. He was already so beautiful. 

The light brown, slightly golden curly hair that fell on top of his head. It sometimes fell in front of his face when he looked down. When he stepped out of he shower, it would be even curlier. He rarely styled it, as it looked perfectly fine on his head. When his hair was wet, it would look so much darker, and it he looked just as beautiful. Josh wasn't sure if he liked his hair when it was darker or lighter,

Plump, pink, soft lips. Tyler bit them with his adorable crooked teeth when he was felt nervous. He licked them when he was nervous, too. They were a beautiful shape, and they felt so nice to kiss. After Tyler and Josh had kissed, his usual pink lips would turn a pretty red color. They were so soft when he kissed them. His lips would definitely be one of the things he missed the most about Tyler. 

His skin was always so smooth. Josh loved holding his small smooth hands. His body had a warm, tan, glow, giving him a flawless appearance, which made sense, as he was flawless. Josh really loved holding the brunette in his lap, especially when his hands slid under his shirt, and his fingertips had a gentle grip on his hips.

Maybe Tyler's voice was Josh's favorite. The stuttering in his sentences was the cutest thing to Josh. He loved when Tyler would get embarrassed when he said things wrong because of his lisp, that wasn't even that noticeable. Josh had only realized Tyler had a lisp because he was paying so close attention to everything he was doing, as he was intriguing.  When he sang, Josh instantly felt soothed. His small voice cracks just added onto that.

Tyler was absolutely perfect in every single way. He had no flaws one so ever. Maybe Josh would just miss him more as a whole person, rather than a specific feature. It didn't really matter, though, right? He was still heartbroken and he his heart was aching for him. In all honesty, he would do anything to go back to yesterday. Not focusing on Tyler was his biggest regret. Never would he forgive himself. 

As Josh drowned himself with his thoughts, Melanie arrived at their dorm. She had had a spare key, so getting it wasn't a problem. When she walked into Tyler's room, Ashley's terrified brown eyes locked with hers, making her realize that it must have been worse than she thought. It wasn't her fault for thinking it was better,  though, as she had always thought highly of Josh. 

Quietly, she studied Josh's body movements. Twitching and shaking arms and legs, she noted. He was gnawing on his bottom lip, letting out soft whimpers and cries, likely without realizing. His red eyes were shut, but that didn't stop the tears from coming out. Overall, his body was much paler than normal. 

"Sweetheart," She said sympathetically, feeling her heart hurt. At the sound of her voice, Josh's eyes shot open. He had scrambled to get off of Debby's lap, making grabby hands at the blue and purple haired girl. She had complied at the silent request, climbing onto his lap and wrapping her own arms around him. "It's going to be okay." 

"It hurts so bad." He wailed. "I miss him so m-much. It's only been a day and I miss him l-like this." His sobs, mixed with gasps of air got increasingly louder as he spoke. "I can't do it. I can't. I'm g-g-going to die." He lamented, burying his face in her shoulder.

"Don't think like that." She gulped, hoping he wasn't implying what she thought she was. "You have to think positive."

"He was everything," He blurted. "He was my everything." The red haired boy corrected himself. "And I didn't r-realize how much I loved him, o-or needed him until he was dead!" Josh sounded disgusted with the last world, and quite frankly, himself. 

Wiping her teary eyes, Debby glanced at Josh. "That's what happens. You have no idea how much someone means until their gone." Her words were truthful, and Josh wished they weren't. 

Why did he have to be so stupid? Why couldn't he have just had the force field on Tyler? Why did they say their first and last 'I love you's' under such appalling circumstances? Why did it hurt so bad? Why couldn't Josh just be normal and except the fact that he was dead? 

"I wanna die." He whimpered, letting out a loud cry after stating the honest truth. "I can't do this," He whined.

He felt pathetic to cry like this. Especially in front of his close friends. What if they thought he was overreacting? Was he being overdramatic? 

Melanie adjusted the him, climbing off of his lap, quietly telling him to move so he could lay on her lap. Once his head was in her lap, his eyes focused on hers. Debby's hands played with his hair, which that soothed. Ashley's humming was soothing him uncontrollably.

"Baby, no. You can't think like that. Please," Melanie's voice sounded desperate, but it didn't make Josh change his mind. 

In fact, it had made him want to leave more. He was causing all of this destruction. He was the cause of the three of them crying, and he was the cause of Tyler's death. Everyone would be better off without him. Besides, what does he have to live for? He doesn't have Tyler anymore. No one will compare to him, anyway. Maybe he could meet back up with Tyler in heaven. But you couldn't go to heaven if you killed someone right? 

Technically, Josh didn't kill him. Magneto did. But Josh wasn't having any of that. Even when a part of him considered that it wasn't his fault, he still believed it was. Maybe blaming Tyler's death on himself was some sort of sick coping mechanism.

Desperately, Josh wanted to avenge Tyler. But if he killed Tyler, like he said and thought he did,  that meant he would have to kill himself. That had made him wonder if Tyler would feel properly avenged. But do you even feel anything when you're dead? That didn't matter. He needed to avenge him, either way.

When he thought like that, he wanted to kill Magneto. Maybe part of of him realized that it really wasn't his fault. What if he killed Magneto? After all, he wasn't the one who shot the nails into him. 

He didn't really have much time to think about it, as he had fallen asleep, courtesy of Ashley's soft humming, Debby's hands running through his hair, and Melanie's sweet words.

"Fuck, that was so scary." Ashley muttered, feeling Melanie's hand slide into hers. 

"I know." Debby agreed, continuing to run her hands through Josh's red roots.

"I hope this blood thing works." Melanie whispered, glancing down at the sleeping boy on her lap. "But I honestly don't think my blood will bring a dead person back." The multi-color haired girl admitted, her lip in between her teeth.

"We just...we have to be hopeful." The black haired girl stressed.

"If–if Tyler doesn't come back, Josh will be ruined. Like, that's the literally the only word I can use to describe it. He'll never be the same."

Debby's eyes squeezed shut. "Don't even say it," She pleaded, wiping her eyes again. "I can't imagine it. He won't stay around if Tyler can't." Debby voiced, stating what everyone feared.

"We're just going to have to keep an eye on him." Ashley suggested, looking down at Josh and sighing.

"But for how long? We can't be with him every single second of the day." The brown eyed girl stated, matter-of-factly. 

"Do you think he'll be that bad?" Worried Ashley.

"For that long?" Melanie pitched in.

Sighing, Debby fumbled with her fingers. "I don't know." She confessed. "I really hope not." She added.

The rest of the evening was spent silent. All three girls anxiously watching over Josh. Melanie had played calming music as background noise, which both other girls appreciated.

Unfortunately, the nerves didn't die down. Likely, Josh would be in a state of panic when he opened his eyes. The three of them were scared for that.

Anticipation was cruel. Not only were they anticipating Tyler, but now Josh too, for multiple reasons. 

Tyler's being if he would wake up or not. All of three of them strongly doubted that he would wake up, even though Melanie was the only one who would admit it. Of course they would never say it to Josh. That would probably make it feel much more real, and much more painful.

Josh, on the other hand, was about different. Right now, they were anticipating when he would wake up. Overall, however, they were anticipating his reaction. How was he going to react if they officially pronounce Tyler dead? Quite possibly, that was the scariest part.


	20. pulse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this includes vomiting

Josh's eyes fluttered open to the sound of quiet voices. All sounds halted at the realization that Josh was awake. He could still feel hands running through his hair, and that soothed him even as he gained consciousness. 

"Hey, sweetheart." Melanie said softly. The red eyed boy cuddled into her side, and wrapping one of his arms around her waist so he could be closer and more comfortable.

"Hey." Whispered Josh.

"Do you feel any better?" Ashley asked him in a quiet tone. 

He had wondered why they were whispering. It didn't make sense, but he didn't question it. Most because he didn't feel like asking. Quite frankly, he didn't have the energy to ask, or care. Even after his over two hour nap, he still felt exhausted. It was probably more of mental exhaustion, rather than a physical one.

Although Melanie and Ashley weren't showing the way they felt for each other at the moment, Josh could feel it. It was making him sick to his stomach. He had no problem with them dating or loving each other at all. However, right now, it was a different story. Josh didn't want to see any kind of love action of love because it reminded him of Tyler. 

He had silently prayed in his head, his eyes remaining closed. He wanted to throw up all of the contents in his stomach, which was impossible because he hadn't eaten anything since they had gotten home. This didn't really feel like home without Tyler, though.

"Do you think we can go see him?" He queried. 

Melanie's eyes widened. "You–you want to see him?" 

Nodding, Josh's eyes flickered between the three girls. "Yeah.."

Ashley's face had shock written all over it. "Josh, you know he's not going to look..." Ashley stopped, trying to figure out the rod she was looking for.

"Alive?" The red haired boy offered.

Ashley shrugged, looking somewhat uncomfortable. "I-I mean, well, yeah. But that's not what I was looking for. He's just..he's sick. He looks sick."

"Because he's dead." Josh agreed. 

The reply had left all three girls baffled. Why was Josh speaking about Tyler so casually? He was having a panic attack at the thought of him just hours ago, and now he was speaking about Tyler's death as if he had already gotten over it. Not only did it not make sense, but it was confusing as hell.

Debby looked over at Melanie, having a silent conversation with their eyes. "I guess we can take you..." The latter replied.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Keep what Tyler is going to look like into consideration." Debby advised, her face looking concerned.

"Yes. Positive. I know how he's going to look." He muttered. He didn't sound too sure, however.

The girls were all thinking similar things. The fear of Josh breaking down the second he saw Tyler was worrying them. He could say he was excepting it all he wanted, but it would never compare to actually witnessing it. He could never fully prepare yourself for something like this. Seeing someone that was alive only a day ago, and someone that he was deeply in love with be dead could never be prepared for. This wasn't just something one could except. It was a whole new concept for Josh.

There was no way he was going to be okay. Everyone knew it. Even Josh, although he kept it to himself. He was so terrified to see Tyler. Word descriptions could only do so much. Even with the knowledge that he looked 'sick', Josh still felt anxious and unprepared to see him. He would never admit it, but it was the truth.

His reaction would be the scariest part. Would be just stare at the limb body? Would he go into a full-blown panic attack? Would he cry, or would he remain emotionless? Not only was it scary, but it was confusing. They had no idea what was going to happen in that hospital room.

Josh hadn't even entered the school's hospital building before. He had no idea what it looked like, or where it was. Likely, he did know where it was located from memorizing all of the different buildings of the academy from freshman year, but at the moment, his brain was too cluttered with thoughts of Tyler. He didn't have time to memorize things. 

He barely had to time to function. All of the thoughts swarming through his brain wouldn't let him rest. He wished they would just give it a rest. He was wanted to make them stop. Why couldn't they just stop?

Reluctantly, he lifted his head out of Melanie's lap, crawling off of the bed, letting out a sigh. Worrisome faces glanced at Josh, but he was too lost in his mind to notice. The mentioned didn't notice his hands were shaking, either. 

"So....can we go?" Josh bit his lip whilst waiting for a reply.

"Of course!" Melanie shot up from her seat. Her rather energetic and unexpected enthusiasm startled Josh, nevertheless he smiled gratefully. "Yes, I mean," The girl replied much calmer. "That's fine. You guys ready?" 

The other two girls got up from their prior positions, nervous expressions resting on their faces. Sensing the anxiety, Melanie laced her hand with Ashley's and nudged Debby over to Josh. Intertwining Josh's hand with hers, she felt a bit calmer. Luckily, Josh did as well. 

Physical touches always helped. To say Josh was grateful for Debby would be quite an understatement. Even something as simple as hand holding helped. 

The walk to the hospital wasn't eventful. Quiet steps and the chatter amongst other acquaintances were the only sounds heard. Shaking hands swung rhythmically, keeping Josh grounded.

Although Josh thought that a breath of fresh air would help him calm down, it didn't. Part of him wanted to go back inside the dorms building and stop walking to the hospital, but he knew he wouldn't. He knew he would have to put through walking in what felt like a walk of shame. He could almost hear people shouting profanities at him, saying that he was to blame.

Swallowing the thoughts wasn't as easy as it should've been. He sighed quietly. Feeling eyes on him, he stared down at his feet. Did they know about what happened? Had someone spread the word that Tyler was dead and it was his fault? Is that why they were looking at him?

Truth be told, the reason eyes were on him was because he looked horrible. Even though he slept, he sure looked like he didn't. The hair that somewhat fell in front of his forehead was a tangly mess. Not to mention that his clothes were dirty. The doctors made him change into comfortable clothes after he was checked up yesterday, and he hadn't changed them since.

Red eyes glanced up when the girls had stopped walking. They were here. This was it. Josh was about to see Tyler. He was going to be pale and lifeless and motionless, and he was going to be Tyler. Was Tyler even in there? Was it just a lifeless body now? How the hell were they going to revive a dead boy who's been dead for over twenty four hours?

Ashley had held the door open for them when they walked into the building. It was just like a regular hospital. Typical medication smell. White walls that made him feel anxious and isolated. White tiles located on the floor that matched the plain walls. 

This wasn't comforting. He wished they were a pretty color. Why did they have to be plain white? It looked so sad. It made him feel worse. 

Melanie knew where to go. He followed her silently, his eyes shifting from wall to wall, trying to find any sort of color. He felt like the walls. Plain, with no color. His life felt black and white without Tyler. No colors one so ever. 

"Where are we going?" He nudged the brown eyed girl holding his hand. 

"ICU." Debby said calmly, although she looked nervous.

"What's that mean?" 

"Intensive care unit." 

So that was why she was nervous. She was scared for his reaction. He understood why. He didn't blame her for being scared of his reaction. He would be too. Those three words made him even more scared to see him. 

The hospital had four rooms designated for the ICU. Rarely anyone ever had to go there, so there wasn't a need for a big amount of rooms. There were only two other people ever in the ICU beside Tyler. He had felt horrible about that too. Tyler was all by himself. 

The room number Tyler was in was 1988. Josh stared at the door timidly. He wasn't ready. Why did he think he could do this? He couldn't do it. 

But he was going to anyway.

Ashley opened the door and held it for everyone. Josh hasn't realized he was holding his breath until Debby quietly reminded him to.His eyes were shut. Debby lead him to the most comfortable chair they had in the room. This room had four uncomfortable chairs and one faux leather chair.

Tyler's face was the first thing he saw he opened his eyes. Josh's hands shook automatically as he sharply inhaled. His eyes closed as fast as they opened. Gripping Debby's hand tighter, he muttered a few curses under his breath.This was too much for him. He wouldn't be able to last. 

Tyler was dead.

"Josh, it's going to be okay. The more you look at him the easier it will be for you to adjust." Ashley voiced in a gentle tone. 

Chewing on his bottom lip, Josh opened his eyes again. Using his feet, he made the chair move closer to Tyler. 

Red eyes scanned Tyler's motionless body. Although he was reluctant to do so, he grabbed Tyler's hand. He couldn't help but flinch at the coldness of his hands. 

This time, Josh took a good look at Tyler. His hair wasn't visible, due to the beanie that someone had put on his head. His face was a scary whitish color. He was so pale that eyelids, along with his arms showed the veins running through his body. They looked unusually dark. Instead of the usual blue color, they were a darker purple. An IV was pumping Melanie's blood into one of Tyler's dark purple veins. Tyler's knuckles were cracked and dry. His lips were chapped and lacked pigmentation.

The rest of his body was thankfully covered up by thin hospital sheets. Josh was glad he didn't have to see anymore of him. He was hardly dealing with seeing this much. 

The male didn't even realize he crying until a tear dropped on his hand. He wiped his eyes with the hand that wasn't holding Tyler's.

"Ty?" He asked hopefully. There wasn't a reply. Feeling hopeless, Josh wiped more tears away. "I'll be right back," He muttered.

Entering the bathroom, Josh fell to his knees. He leaned over the toilet, vomiting up everything his stomach was holding in. Letting out a sob, more contents from his stomach being emptied. 

Once he was finished, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. His cries were louder as he leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. He had felt pathetic.

After he had somewhat gathered himself together, he stepped out of the bathroom. Concerned eyes stared at Josh's weak frame. He had slumped back next to Debby.

"Maybe," She started, making Josh look at her. "You can write him a letter for when he wakes up." She suggested.

"If he wakes up." Josh corrected her.

Sighing, Debby gave in. "If he wakes up. Write him a letter because maybe one day he'll be awake to read it."

Although he was skeptical about Tyler ever waking up, he said he'd do it anyways. Besides, maybe it would help him.

A short while later, a nurse came in. "I'm checking for a pulse." The blonde explained. Nodding, Josh watched anxiously. 

Gloved hands were pressed against Tyler's neck. All eyes watched her, both curious and scared as they waited for an answer. A quiet sigh and a head shake made Josh realize it wasn't the answer he was hoping for.

"There still isn't a pulse." She said softly. Melanie said a few more words to her, but Josh couldn't really hear them. His brain was too clouded to think. 

Just like that, his whole world collapsed again. 

He didn't remember being pulled into Melanie's embrace, but he cried into her shoulder again. Ashley was singing to him quietly. He was calming down from her voice. His heart ached for Tyler. He just wanted to hold his baby again.

He couldn't cry over this anymore. It was becoming so time consuming. He needed to do other things. There was no use in crying about it. It was impossible to change what had already happened.

He could, however, most certainly make Magneto regret hurting Tyler. Magneto definitely fucked with the wrong guy. Josh was going to make him pay. 

How on earth did he think he could hurt Tyler? Surely he was stupid. Josh wasn't going to let him off easy. He wouldn't just kill him. It wouldn't be that simple. He was going to pay. Suffer. So was Jenna. 

He didn't know where to start, though. Melanie would be able to help him figure it out. They needed an elaborate, well thought out  
plan, and she would definitely help him come up with it.

A little bit later, Josh felt okay enough to speak. His nerves calmed down. He was almost used to seeing Tyler in the state he was in. 

"Mel?" He asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"I need your help."

Melanie tensed. "With what?"

"Revenge."


	21. a letter

Tyler,

 

I don't know how to say every single thing I want in one letter, that you may not even read. Debby said writing it down helps. So, here I am.

 

Introductions are hard, so let's just go from finish to start. I hope this isn't too long. I don't wanna seem weird, or anything. But I guess that won't really matter until you open it. If you do, of course. 

 

I really hope you do. 

 

You haven't had a pulse for five days. That's a really long time, to me. It's been absolute hell. I've had panic attacks and my brain had made me think so pretty awful things because you haven't been around.  I miss you a lot. So does everyone else.

 

I've been praying. All the time. When I wake up, before I go to bed, before I exit the weird room you're in, and before I go in, too. I ask that God protects you. I don't really know if it's working or not. You still don't have a pulse, which means you're dead.  But I still have hope. Maybe God won't let me down. If you wake up, I'd like you to tell me all about what it's like.

 

Is it just black nothings? Did you go to heaven? If you did, what happened? Did you feel dead? Were you able to somehow think? Did you know you were dead when your heart stopped?

 

Those are kind of weird, sorry. 

 

But on a serious note, I really need you to wake up. I'm in the room with you right now. I'm holding your hand, and it's really cold. And really pale. I'm waiting for the day you squeeze my hand back and open those pretty brown eyes of yours. It'll happen someday. I hope.

 

Melanie's blood is pumping into both of your arms, your legs, and chest. It's weird to see someone's blood being put in someone else. I wish you could see it. But then again, I don't exactly want you to see this.

 

Not that you look bad or anything. You'll always be beautiful to me. It's just that everyone comes in crying. You look really sickly pale and you have bags under your eyes. It's just different from your normal appearance. The doctors said it's because your body is adjusting to being dead. 

 

I hope it stops adjusting. 

 

What sucks about hoping is that you can't do anything to change it. You just have hope. It's hard, Ty. It's really fucking hard. No one is saying it to my face but I know what they're all thinking. They don't think you'll make it. I don't know what to think. In a way, I'm glad they won't tell me. I don't necessarily want them to.

 

I wish I could've had my force field on you. I wish you were alive right now. I wish you didn't get hit with nose nails. I wish we never would have joined group twenty one.

 

There's a lot of things I wish.

 

When I first met you, you knew what I was thinking. You knew I thought you were beautiful, and that's because you are. Even like this, you still are beautiful. I've never seen someone with so much beauty. You look just as gorgeous without makeup, too. You love wearing it, and it looks incredible on you. I think you look just as incredible bare faced.

 

My friends all really liked you when you met them. They all thought you were cool. To them, it was slightly nerve racking that you read their minds, but they got passed it the second they got to know you.

 

I remember the day I noticed you had a lisp. It was the cutest thing. You got embarrassed and you started blushing. I insisted it was cute, and you insisted that it was stupid and that it was something that should've have been praised. That only made me love it more, honestly.

 

Tyler, you are literally the sweetest person I have ever met. Everything about you is so sweet. You always want people to be happy. I admire that about you so much.

 

You're very self conscious of your voice, (both talking and singing) and your stutter. But I think they're both cute. I love your stutter, even if you hate it. You sound cute when you stumble on words. It makes you innocent. Your singing voice is gorgeous. Sometimes you have little voice cracks, and I adore them so much. It just adds on to your voice, and it makes your voice yours. I've never heard someone sing like you. 

 

Yesterday, when I went into our dorm, I went in your room to sleep, because it smells like you and it makes me feel closer to you. I found a notebook hidden under the bed. In the notebook, there was a bookmark. I opened it up and found what I believe is song? It's titled 'drown' and I only read the first page. I'm sorry for reading it, as I'm sure you wouldn't want me to, but I put it down right after I finished the first page. The words are so meaningful. If you wake up, maybe you can sing it to me. I'd love to hear your voice again.

 

I'm trying to plan revenge for you. I have no idea what to do, yet. I'm going to make Magneto very sorry for doing this to you. I wish he had did it to me, instead. You don't deserve this. I would've much rather taken the blow.

 

Jenna hasn't said anything to us yet. I don't really want her to. I wonder if she knew about you getting hurt. I didn't kill her when I burned everyone in that big fire after I saw you get hurt. I couldn't control myself.

 

She had managed to escape with Magneto, and that's kind of annoying. I think I'm going to try to get her back here somehow. Figure out why she did this to us. I need answers.

 

Do you remember that weird day dream I had a few weeks ago? The one where everyone, besides me, but including you died? I freaked out because I thought you were actually dead. This is so much worse. Right now, this feeling, is a million times worse. 

 

Imagine that panic attack I had, but amplified a bunch of times. It still wouldn't be a close comparison. You're unaware of the effect you have on me. But I'll tell you, pretty massive. 

 

When I first saw you in the ICU, my heart broke. My immediate reaction was to cry, because I was so scared. I still am scared. I am beyond scared of losing you. I know you don't have a pulse right now, so I've technically already lost you, but I'm still not giving up.

 

This little part of my brain keeps telling me that everything's going to be okay. It keeps saying that you'll wake up. I'm living off of that little part of my brain.

 

But truth be told, everyday you don't wake up it gets smaller. Even though it's only been five days. But I don't want to say 'only'. That's so wrong. Five hours is too long, let alone five days. Anyway, as days pass I lose hope. I'm trying to stay optimistic for you, so I need you to try to wake up for me. I want you stay. Don't leave me here by myself. Come back to me, baby. 

Charles has excused me from my classes. He said he could tell I wasn't mentally well enough to work sufficiently, so I've been spending them here every second I can. Melanie excused, too. It's because she's giving blood to you. I really appreciate her trying to help you. She's helped me through all my panic attacks in the past five days. I love her a lot. I know you do, too.

 

I think Charles understands how much you mean to me. I think a lot of people understand, actually. They have all given be space and haven't asked about you, and I think it's out of respect. Melanie, Ashley, and Debby have been helping me the most. They've been making sure I've eaten and things like that. All of them have gotten better at calming me down when I have panic attacks, which is really good.

 

In all honesty, though, you are really the only one who can fully calm me down. I don't think this reoccurring anxiety will go away until you open your eyes. I also don't exactly know what you do to make me so calm when I'm anxious or panicky. I think it may just be the fact that it's you. I think you're my safe space.

Thank you for being there for me. I hope you still can be here for me. I'm going to be here for you until you wake up. And even when you wake up, I'll still be here. I don't want to leave you, ever. I love you so much, baby. I can't wait to see your beautiful eyes open, so try to open them soon for me, okay?

Without you being here, I've realized how much you mean to me. I understand what needing someone fully means. Never in my life have I wanted or needed someone as much as you. Tyler, when I say these things, I 100% mean them. You are my everything. I live for you. I want to always be with you. I want to hold you and remain in physical contact with you forever, because I crave your touches when we aren't touching. 

 

Holding your hand is different right now because you aren't holding it back. I want you to hold my hand, too. Squeeze it, do or something.

 

Let us, me, know you're still in there. Move your eyes from underneath your eyelids. Let out a quiet breath. Twitch your hand, or your leg, or foot. Just show us you're okay. I need you to be okay for me to be okay. You have to make it out. You can't leave me.

 

There's so many things we haven't done yet. I really, really, really want you to wake up. If you wake up, I'll buy you ice cream and a bunch of makeup and kiss you for days. I miss your presence so much. Your body is here, but you aren't. I miss you.

 

Please come back.

 

Love is such a big, strong, scary, word. It makes me nervous when I think about it. When you said you loved me, my heart skipped a few beats. I was so uncertain and incredibly scared, yet I said it back right away. It wasn't out of impulse. It was because it was true. I had realized I loved you when you said you loved me. I felt love before I knew what to call it. Thank you for saying it first. It's scary to say it. 

 

When you told me you loved me, I wanted to kiss you forever. I wanted to hug you and never let go. But, I couldn't. You were bleeding out. Those were your last words. You called my name, and then I said yes. You told me you loved me. I said it back right before you fell asleep. You still haven't woken up. Please wake up, for me. 

 

I love you so much, Ty. You'll never know how much I love you. It's indescribable. I'd live for you, so please live for me. I can't do this without my best friend. I can't do this without the love of my life. 

 

Since you're the love of my life, I had also wanted to know if you wanted to be my boyfriend? If you wake up and read this, (and hopefully you will) I hope you say yes. I'd really love to go around school and tell everyone you're mine. 

 

Everyone would be so jealous! They would love to date a boy like you. You're so amazing. I wish you knew that, baby.

 

Everything about you is amazing.

 

Wake up for me, okay? I need to see those beautiful big brown eyes and hear that beautiful stuttering voice. Squeeze my hand soon. I need some sort of sign that you're still there. 

 

I love you. So, so, much.

 

\- Josh


	22. hopeless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> briefly references suicidal thoughts.

It's been over an entire week. Nine whole days without the presence of Tyler Joseph. Nine whole days since Tyler had opened his eyes, smiled, or even breathed.

The nurses have been checking every other hour for a pulse. It's been the same answer every time, though. Nothing. No signs of life one so ever. 

The word hopeless was scary. But it was the only way to properly describe how he felt. Every single time he heard the words 'Tyler doesn't have a pulse yet' he wanted to bury himself six feet under. He greatly feared that that would be what they had to do with Tyler soon. Yet was such a hopeless word. You could never be sure about anything with the word yet.

Josh's had another seven panic attacks. They've left him feeling drained and empty. His usually bright red eyes looked maroon. They were dull and lifeless, like Tyler.

His hand was placed in Tyler's, occasionally squeezing it. The letter he wrote to Tyler was sealed in a pretty envelope, sealed with a pastel pink stamp. On the front of the envelope, 'Tyler' was written on it in black cursive handwriting.

A cannula was placed under his nose yesterday. It was pumping oxygen directly into his dead body.

Melanie was directly giving blood to Tyler. A syringe was taped to Melanie's arm, the blood flowing through the tube which dropped into an IV bag that was hooked up to Tyler's hand. He now has two IVs in him. One on his hand and one on his upper arm. 

Unlike other days, both of Melanie's arms were being used to take blood. Ashley was holding her limp hand as they both slept. Debby was here earlier, but she had to go for a reason Josh couldn't remember. 

It was almost eight o'clock in the evening. He was slightly hungry, but he wasn't going to leave Tyler to go across campus and into the cafeteria. What if something happened to Tyler whilst he we gone? He wouldn't be able to leave. He couldn't risk it.

Although Josh had been trying hard to push away negative thoughts, it was so challenging. His brain kept nagging him, saying that everyone who was here was just doing this for his own sake. It said other things, too. Tyler was lost cause, he's been dead for a week and he isn't coming back, they're just doing this so you don't kill your self.

While that all may have been true, Josh refused to believe it. Maybe it was hope or maybe it was denial, but whatever it was helping. He honestly thought it was latter. The boy felt himself deteriorating as Tyler did. As days passed, his reason to live did, too. What was the world without Tyler? A horrible, mean place. Nine days was far too long. He needed him to come back.

Another panic attack seemed like the only thing he forgot to think about. As his thoughts raced, his anxiety did too. He unknowingly gave himself the terrible outbursts by thinking about all of the possibilities of Tyler not coming back. While some may think Tyler was his number one source of stress, it really was himself.

Ashley and Melanie would be leaving soon. They left at eight every night. Josh, however, didn't leave at all. On his forth day of waiting for Tyler, he eventually grew tired of leaving. Stuffing clothes in a duffel bag and gathering any other necessity seemed like the only logical solution. He'd change whenever he felt like it. But he'd never take long. That would be risky, too. 

 

The next time Josh looked at the clock, it was nearly nine. Considering his options, he came to the conclusion that he wasnn't getting up to tell them they could do home. Hopefully they'd wake up if he talked a little bit louder than normal. 

"Guys?" Josh questioned. No response. "Ash?" This time, his voice was a bit louder. "Melanie?" Ashley woke up when he said that? and he let out a sigh of relief. As she wiped the sleep out of her eyes he gave her a small smile. "It's almost nine o'clock. You guys can go home."

The red haired boy knew that Ashley was going to make sure it was okay to leave, like she had been. She would ask for reassurance because she didn't want to leave in case Josh needed her. Even when he felt like he was going to make it through the night, he always told the both of them that he'd be fine. If Josh was certain of one thing, it would be that he wasn't going to drag other people down into this spiraling hole he was falling in.

"Are you sure it's okay to go? We can stay if you want." Just as expected, Ashley was checking up on him. As much as he appreciated the constant care the two girls (plus Debby) had for him, it sometimes annoyed him. He felt like they were babying him. Sometimes part of him felt like they were only doing this because they were scared he was going to kill himself. That part had also questioned if they had even cared about Tyler.

Overall, Josh thankfully didn't listen to that side of his brain. That was good thing mostly because none of was true. They cared about Josh and was with him constantly because they cared about him. Sure, they were worried about what he could do to himself if he was alone long enough, but that wasn't why they stayed with him frequently. As for Tyler, they cared about him just as much. They all loved Tyler dearly, and watching him slowly deteriorate hurt their hearts too. They just had a better way of dealing with.

Of course they wouldn't feel the same way Josh did, though. But that was okay. Josh had a different kinds of love for Tyler, so they didn't have to love Tyler as much as Josh did. He didn't really want anyone to love him as much as he did, either.

"I'm sure. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Josh voiced quietly.

After waking Melanie up and telling her it was time to go, she nodded towards Josh. As she took the syringe out of Melanie's arm. The IV bag was almost completely full over her blood. Tyler would be okay with blood supply for tonight. Ashley unattached the tube from the syringe and sealed the bag of blood so it wouldn't spill out. Throwing away the now used syringe, she grabbed her bag. Melanie did the same. 

"Night Josh. Try to sleep, okay?" 

"Night. I'll try. Love you guys," He said softly. Obviously he wasn't going to sleep tonight, but there was no point in saying he wouldn't try. 

"We love you too," Melanie said sleepily. Both girls kissed Josh's and Tyler's foreheads before they quietly exited the room.

Letting out a sigh, Josh looked at the brunette 'unconsciously' laying down near him. "I love you, too." He whispered.

A small piece of him was expecting a reply. When he realized he wasn't getting one, he sighed again. He squeezed Tyler's hand, that same part of him anticipating a reciprocation of the action.

Hours had flew by, but Josh didn't know. Tyler consumed all of his attention. The concept of time wasn't really a concept anymore. Dread coated his thoughts.

Although nothing is as happening, something snapped inside of him. His breathing hitched, and his hands were shaking again. He jumped back after he realized he was touching Tyler. Touching a dead person wasn't okay. Tyler was dead. Why was he touching him?

They were ruining his body. Those doctors were destroying his dead body. They needed to plan a funeral, not an awakening. Everyone said when Tyler woke up they would have a big celebration because he was finally alive. That wasn't happening. He wasn't coming back. There was we no chance he'd wake up. 

This was bullshit. They were doing this for Josh, not Tyler. Tyler wasn't waking up, and they accepted that. Josh wasn't okay with it, and they were trying to prolong a suicide that they didn't want to happen.

The room temperature got so hot in seconds. It so strange. Tyler's hands felt like poison.

"I-I can't do this," He told Tyler, who obviously could hear him because he was dead, right?

He tried to take a deep breath. Maybe he should take an oxygen tank from the supply closet. Maybe he needed to be in the ICU as well. Could one go into the intensive care unit for horrible raging thoughts that were driving them to suicide?

"They're destroying your dead body. You were already ruined. They're ruining you more. You're so perfect, but you're so r-ruined." He cried.

He closed his eyes, practically throwing his body off of the chair. Staring at Tyler anxiously, he tried to breathe again, but unfortunately failing. How was he expected to survive this? This was an impossible task.

"I'm s-so sorry, baby. I love you so much. I-I-I just can't stand to see you go." He tried to tell him. "I love you." He reminded him again. 

He walked closer to Tyler's body, his shaking hands ghosting over Tyler's face. He studied his eyes to see if they showed any moment behind his eyelids. 

"I love you." He kissed his lips. "I love you." He did it again. "I love you." He tried again, losing his breath once more. "Please ,Ty." He grabbed his cheeks. "C-come on, baby." He cried. "I need you t-to come b-back." 

But Tyler didn't move. He was completely still. It hurt so much. Everything hurt him so much. Josh couldn't last like this much longer. He couldn't last knowing that Tyler might not wake up. Why couldn't he just come back? This was hopeless. 

Everything was hopeless.


	23. hold my hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mentions self harm but it shouldn’t be triggering

It had been two weeks now. It was night time, meaning it was just Josh and Tyler in the dull, white, hospital room. After the nurses checked for a pulse and were unsuccessful, Josh went right back to feeling horrible.

The nurses unintentionally played with his emotions. They would make him feel hopeful when they came in to check if Tyler had a heartbeat, but when they would say he still didn't have one, the hopelessness would come back. 

An empty feeling filled his body as he watched Tyler, studying for movement. Doing this was killing him. Looking for Tyler to do something he wasn't going to do was breaking him. 

"I love you," He murmured quietly, lips against Tyler's delicate hand. Again, there was nothing.

It seemed like Josh had accepted Tyler's death, but he didn't. The wall he had put up wasn't for protecting himself from other people. It was for protecting himself from his own thoughts. If he thought Tyler was dead now, it wouldn't hurt as bad when they told him Tyler wasn't coming back. 

But he didn't really think Tyler was dead. He most certainly didn't want to, at least. The hope left in him had almost completed crumbled away, but there was still a little bit left. Majority of him thought he wasn't coming back, even though it hurt him to come to terms with it. 

Josh had every reason to leave right now and never come back, but he was staying. Being here and watching Tyler's lifeless body make zero progress was destroying him, but he was still staying. That was love. 

Why did he have to be in love? Why did it have to hurt so bad? Love was so hard. Yet, he didn't regret it. Loving Tyler was a privilege. He unfortunately didn't get to love him as long as he wanted, which was forever. 

The sound of chalk on a chalkboard. An odd number. Stepping on a crack on the sidewalk. Walking under a latter. When knuckles make that crackling sound. That's how Josh felt. 

Yesterday, the colored haired boy smoked for the first time. He didn't think it would become an addiction or anything like that. Simply, he just wanted a release for a little while. Josh would've hurt himself again if Brendon hadn't been so kind and offered him a cigarette. 

They way the nicotine filled his lungs was so satisfying. Now here he was, pulling his third cigarette of the day out of the pack Brendon had generously purchased for him the day before. He had 14 left. Three today, four yesterday.

It wasn't legal for him to smoke yet, so he had to be cautious. He'd turn eighteen next year, but that seemed so far away. Josh being underaged didn't prevent him from breathing the small sticks of tobacco, however.

None of his friends were thrilled with his new found coping mechanism, but after they found out what he did to himself four days ago, they were much more lenient. 

There was no point in yelling at him. Although they still weren't happy with his choice. He wasn't putting himself in harms way this time. Well, not entirely. Cigarettes could definitely do damage, but not nearly as much as what he was previously doing.

Debby had seen the new lines littering his hips and lower the waist when he got up to stretch four days ago. She didn't ask why or how he did it, opting for holding him and telling him it was okay when he broke down into tears. Although Debby would never tell anyone what she saw, Josh was still worried. Therefore, he told Debby to tell everyone about what he did. 

Guilt pooled in his stomach when Debby left later that night, already knowing that everyone was going to pity him tomorrow morning and shower him with praise, saying he was doing so well without Tyler and whatnot. He couldn't help but wonder what Tyler would be saying or thinking if he found out. Would he be sympathetic, or mad?

He deeply inhaled the drug set atop his lips, his mouth plummeting a cloud of grey fog as his hand twitched in Tyler's. The slight fear of this new growing habit becoming an addiction had crossed his mind multiple times, but it never stopped him from lighting the next small stick of release. 

Emotionless and still, Tyler laid there. His body had almost intimated Josh, almost silently telling him that his body was here but he wasn't. 

Even though he was sickly, Josh still thought Tyler looked beautiful, and quite frankly, better than him. His lips were a paler than before, the chapped parts having a slight blue tint to them.

His hair was concealed with a beanie, like before. His hospital gown covered up the rest of his skinny body, along with a blanket that covered his waist down. Tyler's hands weren't as cold as earlier. But oddly, Tyler's right hand began squeezing Josh's. 

The red haired boy barely had time to process it before his eyes widened in shock and he practically sprung up from his chair to tell the nurses. He didn't let go of Tyler in case it was a fluke, instead yelling for one of the nurses. His cigarette dropped out of his hand in shock, but he picked it up and disposed it in the trash can near him in a swift motion.

"Tyler?" He said cautiously. As usual, wasn't a response, but Josh could still feel his hand being held. It was faint, but it was there. 

Two nurses came into the room at the sound of all the commotion Josh created, although he really didn't make too much noise. The ICU was pretty much always quiet though. Mostly because no one was ever here. 

"Is everything okay?" 

"He squeezed my hand. C-can you check for a pulse?" Josh breathed out, not letting go of his hand. 

"He–he squeezed your hand?" She repeated, her voice sounding skeptic, but not in a mean or descending way.

"He's doing it right now. Literally." He confirmed, his leg tapping on the ground in a steady rhythm. 

Her nimble fingers pressed underneath his jawbone, trying to find his pulse in the easiest location. After a few frustrating sighs, she sadly shook her head.

"Josh, I'm not sure why you felt Tyler squeeze your hand. He still doesn't have a pulse, unfortunately." 

Her words were like knifes in his throat. Not trusting his words, he nodded. Eyes shutting, he squeezed Tyler's hands harder after she left. He could have sworn he felt it. How would he just mistaken Tyler squeezing his hand? It hadn't happen before, so why would it happen now? How wasn't Tyler alive?

He'd rather have his heart ripped out then deal with anything right now. This hurt more than anything he ever felt. It felt like some sort of sick joke. His hopefulness and happiness was josh ripped away from in a matter of seconds.

Cigarettes wouldn't help him heal this time. Only Tyler could save him from the hole he was helplessly falling into. No amount of nicotine or drugs could help him cope with false hope he had just experienced. He had wanted Tyler, and Tyler only. Nothing could save him besides the brown eyed boy.

Josh didn't know how many minutes passed. It could've been hours and he wouldn't have known. His sobs blocked out everything. His hand was no longer locked Tyler's, instead wrapped around himself as he rocked in the chair. Not once did he open his eyes. It hurt too much to see him.

"It's okay, Ty." Josh tried to say through tears. "I k-know you're t-trying. You c-can come back. I love y-you so much." He hiccuped.

He tried to pull out his cigarette pack even though he knew it wouldn't relieve the emptiness in his lungs. Shaking hands opened the white colored box slowly. He lit the white stick with his unsteady hands, inhaling the drug faster than he normally would. 

Fuck being underaged. So what if he got in trouble? He didn't care anymore. If this was his coping mechanism, then so be it. No one was going to stop him. 

He envied Tyler now. More than anything, he just wanted to no longer breathe and be put under ground. Everything would be so much better that way. No more problems, no more cigarettes, and no more Tyler. 

Tyler. It wasn't his fault. Josh's suffering was his own fault. He should've been watching Tyler and he wasn't. He was to blame. But not only was he paying for his actions, Tyler was too. 

One of the worse things about this whole situation was that he didn't know how much Tyler meant to him until he saw him fall down after the nails went into his body. Seeing him helpless and bloodied, crying in pain, and shaking in fear would be something he'd never forget. Trying to assure Tyler he would be okay while Brendon stuck tongs into his body to take out a nail inches deep inside of him would forever remain in his memory. Those type of things can't just disappear. He couldn't erase the horrible memories no matter how hard he tried.

Every time he looked at Tyler he would see his motionless and bloodied body when they were on the plane. When Josh looked at Tyler's hands, it was a constant reminder that he was holding them when the brunette's heart stopped. When Ashton would come in to check up on Tyler, Josh would remember that he was the one who dragged him out of the room when Tyler was no longer gripping his hand. Everything was a reminder of Tyler. 

Josh's brain was pulling out bits and pieces of his sanity as the days went on. He felt like someone had impelled a scalpel into his brain, and they were slowly taking out parts of it. This waiting game was eating him on the inside, and out. 

He barely heard his name when it was called. "J-Josh?" The red haired boy looked up, subconsciously squeezing Tyler's hand.

Red eyes gazed over Tyler's, and Josh stopped breathing. Why were they open? They were blinking. How were his eyes blinking? This didn't make sense. Tyler didn't have a pulse. What the hell?

Since when was Tyler squeezing his hand again? This was all happening too fast. He couldn't handle it. His breathing was becoming erratic as he realized what was happening. 

"Josh?" That was Tyler's voice. Josh couldn't breathe at all because that was Tyler's voice. It was high pitched and scratchy and a little whiny and none of that mattered because it was Tyler's voice. 

Josh shut his eyes again. When kept them closed, Tyler no longer squeezed his hand. His eyes sprang open when he didn't feel Tyler's grip. 

It wasn't real. This was just a dream. Tyler was still dead and he wasn't coming back. Everything is fake. Nothing matters anymore. Josh was sick of false hope. 

"Joshie?" His eyes opened again, and his lips parted from shock. He stood up almost instantly, his eyes studying Tyler's pale face.

Tyler had wondered how long he had been out. It couldn't have been more than a day, right? It definitely didn't feel like it could've been any more than a day, so it had to have been just a few hours. Tyler curiously studied Josh, noticing that he wasn't wearing the clothes he was wearing a few hours ago. He looked really tired and somewhat sick. 

"No," Josh said skeptically, feeling his eyes water. "Y-you didn't have a pulse. They said–said you didn't." A panic attack was pproaching Josh.

"What do you mean?" Tyler queried quietly, squeezing his hands, feeling a little confused.

"Oh my god, Tyler, do you know how long you've been gone? I can't believe this. It can't be real. They said you were dead. You didn't have a pulse and no one thought you were going to make it and I was so scared that–" Josh was interrupted by Tyler's lips on his. They were chapped and slightly warmer than before. The older boys eyes shut as he reciprocated the action.

It was difficult to ignore Josh's words. Since when was he dead? He didn't remember being dead at all. 

Once they pulled apart, Josh let out a cry, which made Tyler frown in concern. "Why a-are you crying? It's alright. I'm okay."

"You hate that word." Josh pointed out through his tears. "You're here. You're breathing and talking and kissing me. Oh my god," Josh wiped his eyes as he started rambling again. "Can I–can I hold you?" He asked quietly, knowing that Tyler's affection would help him not have the panic attack he was on the brink of.

Tyler blushed, and it slightly eased Josh. He was glad that he had some color on his face again. "O-of course." He glanced at his arm as he spoke, realizing that he had an IV in. "J-just be care-careful. My IV is in." 

 

"Alright." Nodding, he picked Tyler up, trying to ignore the fact that Tyler was significantly lighter than before. 

 

The younger boy winced at the action, feeling his eye well up with tears as he shook his head. "It h-hurts. I can't stand," He whimpered.

Josh tried to be as gentle as he could after hearing those words. . Sitting down on the hospital bed, he pulled Tyler back on top of him. He adjusted the beds angle, making it lay almost completely flat rather rather than sitting up like before. Tyler laid on his chest, his legs intertwining with Josh's.

"You'll heal soon, Ty. Your body has been focused on coming back to life so you haven't had time to heal much of anything else." Josh seemed to know what Tyler was thinking. The words eased Tyler, thankfully.

"I hope," The brown eyed boy admitted.

They laid in a comfortable silence until Josh broke it. "I can't believe you're back. It's been so long. I missed you so much. I'm so happy." Josh rambled, a grin on his face.

"I'm glad," Tyler said with a smile.

"Ty?" The red eyed boy whispered.

"Yeah?" He answered in the same quiet tone. 

"I love you." Josh softly replied, feeling his heartbeat faster at his own words.

The brunette blushed brightly. "Y-You meant it?" He asked, referring to the time Tyler had said he loved when they were on Blackbird.

A slight frown graced his face. "Of course I did. Why would you think I didn't?"

"I d-don't know.." He shrugged. "I was saying it be-because I thought I was going to die and I wanted you to know the t-truth before I did. I assumed you said it because you did-didn't want to u-upset me.." Tyler tried to explain.

"Ty, I missed two weeks of school and I haven't been in our dorm since you got here, baby. I refused to leave or do much of anything. I'd just hold your hand and cry. I thought you–you were dead. I still don't understand how you're here. They said you didn't have a pulse. You've been 'dead' for two weeks." 

Tyler's eyes widened at all the information that was just poured down on him. He let out a slight gasp at Josh's last sentence. "I don't remember any of it." He whispered. "I'm sorry that I d-did that to you," Tyler felt his eyes watering. 

"No, baby. You didn't do anything wrong. I should've been there to protect you. I'm so sorry I wasn't." An aching feeling remained in Tyler's heart even as Josh assured him he didn't do anything wrong. 

"I'm s-sorry.." He repeated.

"Angel, you didn't do anything wrong. I promise you." Josh tried again.

Burying his face in Josh's neck, he sighed quietly. "I can't believe y-you stopped go-going to class for two weeks." Feeling guilt, Tyler muttered.

"I'd do it a million times if it meant you'd wake up." He admitted honestly. 

"I love you." Tyler looked up at him, his brown eyes meeting Josh's red ones.

Josh had craved to hear those words from Tyler for too long. Hearing him say it now, for the first time without him having to worry about if he was going to make it in his next few moments was incredible. Goosebumps rose on his arms at the three words, and Josh smiled contently.

"I love you, baby. So much."

Relaxing against Josh, Tyler grabbed the hand that wasn't already wrapped around him, lacing their fingers together. 

"Can w-we just lay here and forget the world for a while?" The younger boy inquired with a smile.

Nodding, Josh smiled even bigger, unable to control himself. "Yeah. I'd like that. I'd like that a whole lot."


	24. wheelchairs

"I just..I can't believe he's okay," Josh confessed.

"When you told me, I was shocked." Brendon admitted, making Josh smile a bit.

"He's so strong." The red eyed boy spoke with admiration.

"He is."

"Definitely."

"He's the strongest person I know, besides you." Melanie told him honestly.

Even though a grin spread t his face, Josh shook his head. "That's not true." He muttered. "Tyler's so much better. He's-he's...well, Tyler." Josh shrugged, feeling his face turn red. 

"You're so in love with him, it physically hurts me." Ashley joked, although she wasn't really kidding. She envied to have that kind of relationship with Melanie.

"Can I be real for a second?" Brendon asked quietly. Everyone's gaze was fixated on him as they all nodded.

"I–I know I shouldn't, but I can't help but miss Jenna. I was already sort of in love with her, but after I realized I'd never have a chance I sort of moved on to Tyler. But then you flipped out on me," He motioned towards Josh. "So that wasn't an option either. But even then, when I liked Tyler, I still liked Jenna. She was always my number one. And I know I shouldn't love her, but I just, I do. It sucks. I don't want to love or miss her but I do." Brendon confessed.

"You're right. That sucks," The blacked haired girl sympathetic agreed. 

"I miss her, too." Melanie agreed, making Ashley's eyebrows furrow. 

"Why? She was a lying bitc–"

"We don't know the full story." Debby interrupted. "Maybe she had a reason."

"A reason for getting Tyler killed and Josh emotionally traumatized?" Ashley scoffed.

"No," Debby shook her head. "That's not what I meant. And, she didn't do that either. That was Magneto's wrongdoing. I'm not saying what she did was okay or right in any way, but she isn't the reason Tyler almost died."

"She influenced it." Ashley fired back.

"You don't know that." Melanie argued.

"You don't not know that." Ashley retorted.

"Well, you–"

"Guys!" Josh blurted, looking at the three of them with wide eyes. Brendon had a similar expression. "Relax. Seriously. I'm okay and Tyler's recovering. Plus, we'll eventually figure out why Jenna did what she did–"

"Don't you mean why Jenna decided to be a snake and betray us?"

"Ashley." Brendon warned.

"Sorry," She muttered.

"Anyway, we'll find out what she did soon. Hopefully."

"There had to be a reason. She wouldn't have just did that to us."

"You don't know that." Ashley rolled her eyes.

"Yes I do. She wasn't like that, and you know that too. I don't know what her motive was, but it must have been important." Debby didn't give Ashley an attitude, simply just explaining what she believed. 

"Tyler said she was acting strange that morning." Melanie recalled.

"At least she isn't around anymore." Ashley muttered.

"I guess." The blue and purple haired girl shrugged.

"I just can't believe that Tyler is okay. I've never felt so happy in my life. Like, he means so much to me. I cried so much when he fell asleep because I was so grateful." Josh spoke honestly as he changed the subject.

"You should go spend time with him. You just got him back and you're here spending it with us." Debby pointed out. 

"Yeah. I know you miss him. You keep talking about him." Melanie agreed.

"He's literally in the next dorm. Go get him and bring him over so you'll be with him and us at the same time." Ashley suggested.

Pink dusted his cheeks. "Okay," He shrugged.

Josh got up from the couch as another conversation erupted. Waving goodbye, he exited the dorm room and walked over to the one next door. Swiping his key, he could faintly hear piano playing.

His eyebrows furrowed as he entered the dorm, and his eyes widened when he heard a voice. More specifically, Tyler's voice.

He wanted to tell Tyler to come back to other dorm with him, but he also wanted to hear him sing. Interrupting would be rude, too.

Quietly, Josh walked into Tyler's room. The brunettes back was facing Josh, his hands swiftly playing a variety of notes, all contrasting well together. His back was tall, but Josh knew that was the wheelchair's doing. He couldn't sit up straight on his own yet. The recovery process was hard.

Josh stood there, almost dumbfounded. He knew Tyler's voice could put living things in a trance, and he also knew it had a small effect on humans. But, he didn't know that it would effect him this much. Plus, his piano playing was incredible. Since when was he so good?

Tyler must have heard his thoughts because he abruptly stoped playing piano and turned his head around. "H-hey."

"Hey." He greeted him. "What song is that?"

"It's called clear. I w-wrote it." He explained.

Red eyes widened. "What? Really?"

Tyler blushed. "Yeah...Do you like it?"

"It was," Josh struggled to find a word to describe how perfect the song was. "So good. Amazing." He praised.

Tyler shrugged, his lips contorting into a smile. "It's okay, I guess."

As Josh was going to say something, Melanie opened the door. "Hey. Sorry to interrupt, but the group wants us all for a meeting." The multicolor haired informed them. "But everyone said that you should rest." Tyler frowned at her words.

"B-but I want to help." He disappointedly said.

"I know, honey. But you only woke up yesterday. You can't make your body do all that work when you've only just woke up." She explained.

Huffing, Tyler looked down. He really didn't want the treatment he knew was going to get for the next few weeks. Honestly, he wanted everyone to treat him as if nothing happened. That would sort of be hard, seeing as he's in a wheel chair, but he still wished it. His powers still worked. All of his powers had to do with his mind, and him being in a wheelchair didn't effect his powers. 

Although, he did know they were right. His doctors told him to sleep as much as possible, and he'd been fighting off the urge to pass out in the wheel chair for a good few hours. However, he still wanted to be included. 

"Maybe we could have the meeting here. That way, Tyler could sleep but he'd be with us when he wakes up." Josh conjectured.

"Alright." Melanie obliged. "I'll go get everyone."

There was a brief silence after Melanie left, until Tyler broke it. "Thank you." He whispered.

"You're welcome." Josh replied. Standing up, Josh walked over to Tyler and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss on his warm pink lips. Red coated Tyler's cheeks once Josh pulled away, making him chuckle.

"I c-can't help it!" The brunette laughed.

"You're cute when you blush." Josh blurted.

The sentence only made Tyler's blush deepen, and they both laughed. "You're b-being mean!" He giggled.

"I'm not! You just blush a lot!" Argued Josh with a smile.

"Only 'cause of you!" Tyler stated the obvious.

"I bet I can make you blush even more." Josh casually said.

"Do it." Tyler challenged.

"I love you."

Josh smiled as Tyler's cheeks turned a brighter red, and Tyler covered them. "I sh-should've seen that coming." 

"I thought you would've realized." Josh grinned.

"I love you too." Tyler murmured, his eyes shutting as Josh leaned down to give him another kiss.

Before anything else could happen, the door opened again. Josh let out a quiet sigh, but wheeled Tyler into the living room where everyone from group 21 was getting situated. 

"Do you want to sleep on the couch? I'll let you lay on me." He offered. 

Graciously, Tyler nodded. "Y-yes please."

Tyler didn't show any signs of pain when Josh lifted him from the wheel chair and placed him on his lap. In seconds, Tyler was immediately cuddled into his chest, sleep already beginning to make an appearance. A few people awed at the sight of Tyler laying on Josh, which made sense. They really did look adorable. 

Not everyone was here yet. They were waiting for Ashley. When she did arrive almost 10 minutes later, she sat down next to Melanie, intertwining their hands. Tyler had fallen asleep before he could see her.

Brown eyes were concealed through thin, light, colored eyelids, eyelashes contrasting against the darker skin under his eyes. Even though the color has drained back into Tyler's face, he still looked too pale. Sick was the only proper word to describe his looks. His eyelids has blue and purple veins very visible when they were closed, much like when he was in the hospital yesterday.

Josh ran his hands through Tyler's hair a few times, sighing softly as the conversations died down. Eyes shifted on Melanie, Josh, and Brendon, as they were the ones who initiated the meeting.

"So," Nicole broke the silence. "What's up?" 

"Well, I was thinking that–" Josh spoke at the same time as Melanie. "We wanted everyone to–" Both of them looked at each other, rolling their eyes. "You can go." Josh offered.

Clearing her throat, Melanie complied. "So, we wanted to create a plan. A well thought out strategy that includes how to go about getting revenge for Tyler. We need to kill all of them, and more importantly, Magento."

"Will Tyler be a part of this?" Ashley asked.

Rolling her eyes, Melanie glanced over to the girl she had a crush on. "Ash, I already told you." She sighed.

Ashley's eyes widened. "Oh," She bit her lip. "Yeah. I don't remember though." 

"If Charles says he's okay to do it and he feels well enough, then he will. If not, I won't let him do anything." Explained Josh, making Melanie smile gratefully at Josh.

"So...what's your plan?" Luke asked, his left hand twitching. Josh assumed it was from his hands being filled with electricity.

"Well," Brendon spoke up. "If we want this to go correctly and successfully, we really need to think ahead. Not everything will always go as planned, and we need to take that into consideration as well."

"So, basically, you want us all to help you create some sort of elaborate plan to avenge Tyler?" Millie asked with curiosity in her eyes. Although her question sounded rude, it wasn't meant to be.

"Sort of. Avenging Tyler is part of it. Making them pay for the hell they put us through, especially Josh, because of Tyler's injuries are a part as well. We also want to kill Magneto because of what he's done to us, as a school, as a group , and us as individuals." Brendon clarified.

"Any ideas yet?" Ashton broke the brief silence.

"We have to plan an attack on them. It has to be at random for them, and they can't expect us coming in any way one so ever. What we say in here is between us, and only us, understand?" Josh voiced, hearing choruses of 'yes' and 'okay'. 

"There's land that they own in Pennsylvania. They have so many buildings. Much more than ours.

"Isn't that-" Scarlett interrupted, but Melanie knew what she was going to say. 

"Dangerous? Yes. But everything we do is dangerous. We have to fight so everyone else can be safe."

"That makes sense." Calum agreed.

"How will we get in the perimeter without them noticing?" Jon wondered aloud.

"So, Nicole, this is where you play a big role in what we do." Brendon informed her, making the brunette look up, her blue eyes wide in interest.

"What do I have to do?" The girl asked, fumbling with the end of dress.

"You need to be invisible and open the doors and turn off security cameras."

"They have security cameras?" Hayley skeptically asked.

"We do," Melanie shrugged. "I assume they would as well."

"Understandable." Matty nodded his head.

"Anyway," Josh averted the attention back onto the task at hand. "Do you think you can do that?" He looked at Nicole.

"Yeah." Nodding, Nicole confirmed.

"Great." Josh smiled. "So once Nic opens the doors, we have to quietly sneak in. By that point, they'll probably realize something isn't right."

"What happens if someone sees us?" Gerard cautiously questioned with furrowed eyebrows.

"Assuming that Tyler will be better–" Brendon started, but was caught off by Josh.

"Tyler would come either way. He wouldn't miss something like this and he wouldn't listen to us if we told him it was dangerous." Josh retorted.

"Well," Brendon shrugged. "Consider it a good thing. We need him."

"You're right," Josh nodded.

"As I was saying, Tyler would be with us and he could wipe his brain of the memory, and no one will find out."

"And then what?"

"Honestly, it's really unpredictable after that point. We don't know how many people will find us at that point, so it's hard to tell. But I'd recommend we fight with with the people we fought with last time."

"So it'd be Brendon and I?" Spencer asked for clarification.

"Yeah. It'd be Tyler and me, Melanie and Ashley, Matty and Hayley, Scarlett and Nicole, Calum and Luke, Jon and Millie, and Troye and Ashton. I know that Pete, Debby, Gerard, and Patrick were sort of by themselves last time. Feel free to pair together or just go by yourself again. None of you have to go with you were last time, if you don't want, though." Josh slowly explained.

"I'm okay with that." Gerard replied, his shoulders shrugging.

"Me too." Hayley nodded, making Matty's lips twitch into a smile.

"Same as well." Jon agreed, causing Millie to grin at him.

"W-what happens if you see Jenna?" Ashley inquired quietly.

"That's a good question." Brendon pointed out, his eyes averting to Josh's red ones.

The red haired boy replied as he ran a hand through Tyler's hair. "I think we should question her. Ask her why she did what she did to us."

"I'd ask her a lot more than that." With an eye roll, Brendon muttered.

"Like what?" Ashley scoffed.

"Why did she kiss me? Why did she say she loved Tyler?"

"She loved Tyler?"   
"She kissed you?"   
Josh and Millie both interrupted with wide eyes.

"Why did she lie to all of us? Why did she say she was in love with me a few months ago?"

"Were you guys together?"

"Since when?"

"I thought she liked Debby."

"What? Ew, no. We were best friends."

"So you get the point." Brendon muttered, his eyes glued to the floor. "She left us to answer a lot of questions when she left."

"When did she say she was in love with Tyler?" Josh brushed off the rest of the information, only really caring about what Jenna said and why she did. He really didn't like the idea of her even considering him attractive, let alone loving him.

Tyler began stirring in his sleep at the voices, but Brendon didn't notice as he continued to talk in a loud tone. "Probably like, two weeks ago." He carelessly shrugged.

Letting out an irritated sigh, Josh averted his gaze to the boy who was no longer sleeping in his lap. "Hey, baby."

The conversations around them didn't cease, waking Tyler up further. The brunettes eyes remained shut, even though he was unfortunately awake. 

Not wanting to show he was awake yet, Tyler cuddled closer into Josh's side, letting out a quiet groan only Josh heard. Running a few fingers through his hair, Josh chuckled. "Still sleepy?"

The older boy felt the younger nod against him. "But I-I'm awake now."

Feeling slightly bad, Josh pulled Tyler up, allowing his head to rest in the crook of his neck and each of his legs be on either side of Josh's thighs. "You can try to go back to sleep if you want." He said softly.

Tyler didn't reply, only lifting his head up to glance around the room. Just from his expression, Josh knew something wasn't right. Brown eyes searched around the room. He was clearly looking for something–Josh just didn't know what. 

No one else seemed to notice the sudden behavior change in Tyler. They all were continuing their conversations while Tyler observed them. Josh observed Tyler instead of the others, trying to decipher what he was thinking.

After what felt like forever, Tyler leaned close to Josh's ear. "That's not Ashley." He whispered quietly.

With confusion, Josh's eyebrows furrowed, a skeptic look on his face. "What..? What do you mean?"

"That's not Ashley. That's Jenna." Fearfully, Tyler murmured into his ear.

Panic began to fill his chest. If that was Jenna, that meant she knew about the plan. She knew everything. She was going to tell everyone what had happened. How could she do that to them after everything else she did? Jenna already betrayed their trust once. Now this?

Thank god for Tyler. None of this would've worked if it wasn't for him. Feeling his hands heat up, he looked back at Tyler, his lip in between his teeth.

"Baby, get off me. I don't wanna burn you." Quickly, Tyler shrugged off of him. He really wasn't in the mood to get burned again. He already had enough injuries to be recovering from.

Within seconds, Josh grabbed Jenna. He had burned her, and she always had trouble focusing when she was in pain. Josh knew she would've accidentally revealed herself if she was in pain, hence why he grabbed her.

"Josh!" Her body started turning back to its normal color and shape at the contact of his hands, her voice changing while she yelled his name. 

"Who are you, Jenna? This isn't the girl I used to know. What happened to you?" He exclaimed, grabbing both of her arms, burning her in the process.

"Josh, stop!" Tyler pleased, staying away from him this time to avoid being burned.

"Stay out of this. She's the reason you almost died."

"What?" Her eyes widened fearfully, beginning to water.

"Magneto almost fucking killed him. He made nails go through his body. They were inches away from his heart and punctured his lung. He was dead for two weeks, Jenna. Do you know how much that hurt?" Josh questioned theoretically.

Her wide eyes and parted lips proved that she didn't know the answer. "N-no." She whispered.

"It's the worst feeling in the word, Jenna." Josh muttered. "It hurt more than anything." He angrily explained.

 

"I'm sorry.." She said in the same quiet tone.

"Me too." Josh replied slowly. "You're gonna be so fucking sorry."


	25. backstabber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> light gore at the end.

"We shouldn't have let him be alone with her." Tyler muttered.

"He isn't going to hurt her." Debby assured him, which didn't make sense to Tyler.

"He hurt me." The brunette pointed out, making Melanie furrow her eyebrows.

"He didn't mean to." Scarlett chimed in.

"But he did." Tyler argued.

"Didn't mean to." She replied.

"He still did it." 

"Okay," Millie silenced them. "We get it. He didn't mean to hurt you, but he did. That doesn't mean he'll hurt Jenna." 

Brendon rolled his eyes. "You seem to have forgotten that he burned her earlier."

"Oh,"

"Yeah." Tyler rolled his eyes.

"Wait," Melanie paused the conversation, her brown eyes wide. "If Jenna was pretending to be Ashley, where's Ashley?"

Meanwhile, Josh, Nicole, Hayley, and Jon were talking amongst themselves, Jenna quietly sitting at the end of the table they were all seated at. The shiny silver metallic of the table was cold, but Jenna didn't get the pleasure of touching it. While the rest of their elbows were propped against the cold steel table, Jenna's were tied uncomfortably behind the chair, the beige colored rope occasionally gracing the burn mark she had from Josh. 

Nicole's bright blue eyes stared into Jon's as he went into depth about a theory he had about Magneto and why he created the group of mutants. Hayley argued with him, saying that they already knew what happened and why it happened, but Jon only rolled his eyes at her replies. Constantly, he would assure her that it was a theory, and theories don't always have to be true. Josh was watching in amusement, glancing back at Jenna for any signs of remorse or any changes in her expression every now and then.

The dark blue skin thad was coated with a variety of patterns began changing into a much lighter skin tone, subliminally drawing Josh's attention towards it. With in seconds, Jenna wasn't blue and no longer had piercing yellow eyes. As had pale skin, vibrant blue eyes, and pink, chapped, lips. 

"Stay in your natural form. You already have enough to focus on."

Although she didn't understand what Josh meant by that, she listened to him. She knew that upsetting Josh would only make everything worse, so she was cautious about her actions.

Majority of her wanted to apologize for changing, but she kept quiet. Her hands anxiously tapped the back of the metal seat, slightly grimacing at the coldness that never seemed to warm up.

Back at the dorm room, Tyler was stressing himself out because he was worrying about Ashley. He nearly stood up to go look for her, but Melanie yelled at him and pushed him back down. The encounter only annoyed Tyler further, but he knew that Melanie was just doing it for his well being. 

"I can walk, you know," Tyler muttered to her as he began wheeling down the hallway.

"Not really. Tyler, as much as you don't like it, you're body is healing. You can't force yourself to heal faster. It's a gradual process."

"It doesn't have to be. Healers exist, right?" 

Melanie rolled her eyes. "Stop it. Give yourself the break you deserve."

"What?" Tyler almost looked offended at her words. "Was the two weeks I was dead for not enough?"

"Just listen to her Tyler. She means well." Millie butted in.

Grumbling an incoherent reply, Tyler wheeled himself as fast as he could, attempting to get away from them. The girls only rolled their eyes, not phased by Tyler's temporary rude demeanor.

"Where do you think she'd be?" Debby questioned, looking over at Melanie.

"I don't know. Maybe we should go ask her." 

"Okay."

Jenna sat there impatiently, her eyes drawn to her lap. She knew that what Josh was saying was totally directing her. It burned, to say the least. Sure, she did something wrong, but she had feelings too.

"Don't you hate when someone backstabs you despite how much you've helped them overtime?" He asked casually. Jon, Nicole, and Haley knew what he was saying without actually saying the words.

"Totally. Especially when you trusted them with really important information and they told people anyway." Jon added. 

"It really fucking hurts, doesn't it?" 

"Yeah."

"You know what else hurts?" Jenna spoke before she could stop herself, leaving the attention on her. Millie walked in as all of their heads turned to look at the blue skinned girl. Before she could ask about Ashley's location, Jenna continued to speak. "When someone acts like they know what happened when they really don't, and everyone turns their back against you." She hissed, her words like venom in Josh's veins.

"Then what happened, Jenna?" The red eyed boy quiered, Deciding to remain quiet, Millie sat next to Jon, her brown eyes fixated on the pair. 

The yellow eyed girl noticeably tensed when Josh got closer to her. His face said everything-anger. 

"It doesn't concern you." She sharply muttered.

"Yes it does. You nearly got my boyfri-best friend killed." Argued Josh.

"I'm not telling you anything," She whispered, her eyes averting towards the floor. The red eyed boy felt his heart sink.

"Please?" He pleaded. "Give me the whole story. Why did this originate? Why Tyler?"

"I can't." Her tone sounded defeated, and Josh was baffled by her words.

Why couldn't she tell them what was going on? Why did she have to backstab them? Why did she practically set Tyler up to die? Was her intention to kill Tyler?

"When I was born, I had these abilities. My mother didn't want me to look like or be like a mutant, so she gave me injections to prevent the abilities to grow and be useful, or even be existent. But, I still had the power. I didn't know it at the time."

"Then what?" Nicole nodded her head for Jenna to continue.

"I woke up with a needle in my arm when I was thirteen. I was blue skinned and scared and confused. I have no idea who gave me the needle to this day."

"And then?" Hayley waited for her to continue.

"All my powers came back."

"That's not it." Millie rolled her eyes. "Tell us what else."

"How does her backstory relate to why she backstabbed us and nearly murdered Tyler?" Jon stated matter-of-factly.

"I don't know..." Josh wearily muttered.

"It doesn't. Why did you nearly kill Tyler?" 

"I didn't kill him!" The orange-red haired girl exclaimed. "My fathe–" She stopped mid sentence, knowing full well that she was totally done for.

All of them were wide eyed. Hayley was the first to speak. "What..?"

"I didn't mean to say that. T-That's not what I meant." She nervously stuttered.

"What did you mean, then?" Nicole interrogated.

Hayley gently grabbed Nicole, pulling her close to whisper into her ear. "Did she just say father?"

"I think so," The blue eyed girl nodded.

"Nothing." Jenna avoided the question.

"That's not an answer." Josh fumed.

"I can't tell you," Jenna repeated. "Josh, please, I'm not allowed." She fretted desperately.

"What? Yes you can." Jon rolled his eyes.

"No." The yellow eyed girl responded quickly.

"Yes."

"No. Leave me alone."

"Tell me." Josh looked at her with dark eyes.

"Stop fucking telling me what to do! I'm not telling you!" Jenna cursed, making Josh shoot up from his chair and grab her neck with his hand.

"Josh, no!"

"Don't!" Millie was quick to act, grabbing one of Josh's arms, but he shrugged her off.

"You're hurting me!" Jenna cried.

Josh didn't release his grip around her. He was seeing red. They say love can drive you mad. Was this out of love, or revenge? Why couldn't Josh just let it go? Tyler did. Shouldn't Josh?

"You're going too far," Nicole whispered, but Josh heard her.

"Too far? What the fuck to you mean, too far? She got Tyler killed."

"But he's back." Millie tried to stop him.

"That doesn't matter. He was in pain. He still is. I am not letting her get away with that."

"But, Josh–" Millie anxiously interrupted.

"No. She needs to pay for what she's done."

"We need answers from her." Millie pointed out.

"Let go." Jon demanded.

"You need answers from her. I don't need anything." He shook his head, but let go of her. The blue skinned girl's neck was a dark purple, and she hissed in pain. 

"Did your father kill Tyler?"

"He didn't die!"

"Stop avoiding my questions!" Jenna panicked at Joshua's sharp tone, her breathing becoming irregular. She was horrified. Roughly, she swallowed. Yellow eyes were watery at the pain she was experiencing, both mentally and physically.

"Think logically about this. If she's on their side and we-you kill her, it will cause so much more problems." Millie reasoned.

Josh, however, still wasn't having it. "I don't care. She hurt him."

"She didn't. Magneto did. Don't kill her when she didn't do it." Jon quickly budded in.

"Why are you guys defending her? What happened to being a team?"

"Josh, we're trying to save you from a decision you're going to make. This will lead to a war, which can kill Tyler and everyone else. Seriously, man, think logically. What the fuck are you doing?" Jon tried to get through to him.

"I have no idea. I don't care. I hate her."

"I hate a lot of people. I don't kill them, though." 

"You don't understand," Josh whispered, his eyes beginning to water. 

Why couldn't they realize that Jenna was at fault? It didn't matter if Tyler had come back. Would their opinions be different if Tyler was still dead? Josh loved Tyler so much, and they took him away from him. Even if it was temporary, it still hurt.

"Josh, I do–"

"No you don't. Do you know what it's like to be in love? It's the best feeling in the whole word. You won't understand till it happens. Do you know what it like to have the person you're in love ripped away from you in the matter of seconds, and there's nothing you can do about it, even if you tried your hardest? Do you know what that's like? Are you sure you understand?" He ranted to Hayley, who was left with an open mouth. 

There wasn't time to react before Josh grabbed the knife he had in his pocket and swiftly flicked it across her throat. Everyone was wide eyed as they watched Jenna's throat begin to leak blood from being cut. She let out a quiet gasp before coughing, blood coming out of her mouth in the process. 

"Fuck," Jon swore, looking over to Millie, who was staring at the body with wide, terrified eyes. Taking matters into his own hands, he picked up the thirteen year old, allowing her head to rest in the crook of his neck. She let out a quiet cry, Jon beginning to rub her back in an attempt to comfort her.

Nicole's pale hands shook as she stared at the floor that was slowly being coated with crimson. Hayley's eyes watered in fear as she took a step back, away from Josh.

This was bad. What were they supposed to do with her body? How would they explain this to Charles? Why didn't Josh think this through? This was so bad.

There was still a part of Josh that didn't want her to suffer while she was dying, which was why he used a knife rather than his hands. He wanted her death to be simple. 

Unfortunately, it was anything but.


	26. handprints

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen to hurricane by halsey if u dare.

"Guys!" Millie came into Tyler's dorm again, making Ashley jump in surprise. 

She was still scared from earlier. Jenna had grabbed her from behind and injected something into her neck, which resulted in the brunette passing out. When she woke up, she was tied up and horrified. She didn't know who tied her up or who injected her because her back was turned at the time, which made her even more frightened. However, Debby found her, which was a relief for everyone. Betrayal would be the only word to describe how Ashley felt when she found out that it was Jenna who hurt her.

But when Millie abruptly opened the door, Ashley couldn't help but jump. She was very fearful of Jenna taking her again, even though she knew that Tyler, Melanie, and Debby wouldn't allow that to happen.

Tyler jumped at the sudden outburst, as Millie had startled him. "What's wrong?" He said quickly.

"It's Jenna.." She muttered. "Tyler, you have to calm Josh down. Right now." 

As the brunette got up, his eyes were wide and full of confusion. "What hap-hapened? What did s-she do?" Tyler questioned, grabbing Millie's hand as she began running out of door.

Debby stood up quickly, her eyes wide with panic. "He's not supposed to be walking yet!" She yelled.

"Melanie, you too!" The curly haired brunette called out, looking over to Melanie as she pulled Tyler out of the room and ignored Debby's concerns for Tyler.

"Why do they need me?" The multicolored haired girl exclaimed, following the pair whom were sprinting down the hall.

"Just come on!" The curly haired girl yelled, her grip on Tyler's thin wrists tightening as she began running faster.

The room was cold when they arrived. The metal on the walls reflected the crimson mess displayed on the floor, where the once living blue skinned girl lied. 

The tables, along with the metal chairs to match, had also come in close proximity color wise, with the walls. The floor was a chilling cold metal as well, and goosebumps had rose on Jenna's body has the life flowed from out of her. The maroon color looked black against her royal blue complexion.

Nicole's ocean eyes were full of fear, staring at the lifeless body collapsed at her feet. Joshua's mouth was agape, his posture slouched as he swallowed roughly, because he did this.

This was all on him. All his fault. Tyler would never let him live this down. What if he just ruined their relationship? What did he just start? He could've started a war. 

The scariest part about it was that he didn't regret that Jenna was dead. He just regretted that he was the one to do it. There would be consequences for the unthinkable act he committed, but he didn't care. Unless, of course, they hurt Tyler, or anyone else in the group.

"Josh?" Tyler whimpered, his brown eyes teary as he saw the dead body on the floor.

This wasn't the first time he had seen dead body, obviously. He wasn't exactly innocent of the felony either, even though he was doing it to protect everyone. Josh was too, in a way. However, Josh may have jeopardized their lives rather than helped them.

Josh jumped up, his breath a heavy cloud of anger. Millie gave Tyler a look, and the brunette knew that freaking out on Josh wouldn't help the situation. Confrontation could happen later. Right now, they had to dispose of her and calm down Josh.

"Get him out, get him out!" Hayley ordered, her pale hands motioning her words.

"Mel, try to bring her back! Fast!" Jon demanded, pulling Melanie down and watching her brown eyes observe.

"I don't think I can.." She whispered.

"Go!" Millie instructed, looking at Tyler with pure panic.

"Josh!" Tyler firmly spoke. "Lets go." He pulled his hand before Josh could protest.

Tyler stormed out of the silver room, Josh following against his will. So many thoughts were crowding Tyler's head. There was so much he wanted to say, to do, but he couldn't. Not now. When they got in the dorm room, he was going to let it out.

Once the door slammed, Josh knew Tyler was pissed. His red eyes were full of worry as Tyler stared at him, his arms crossed and right knee popped. Releasing an annoyed sigh, the younger boy tapped his foot against the ground, his eyes boring into Josh's body.

"What were you thinking?"

"Tyler, baby, I can explain–" Josh tried to touch the angered brunette, but he pulled away.

"No," He took a step back. "Don't 'baby' me." He fumed. 

"Tyler, you don't under–"

"Of course I understand. I hear everything you s-say in my head, idiot. Do you understand what you've done? You've put everyone at risk."

"She could have killed you!"

"You're out for t-the wrong guy! We both know Magneto was–was the one who almost killed me! You know that! You know that, Josh!" Tyler shouted.

"I took away someone he loved!" Josh growled. "I was a fucking wreck because you were dead. I'm giving him payback."

"I'm not dead! I-I am not dead. Stop s-saying it. It's over with and done with. I'm not dead." 

"But you were. You'll never understand what that's like, Tyler. You can get in my fucking head all you want, but you'll never understand it."

"You've jeopardized everyone's safety."

"I didn't mean to mess it up, Tyler." The ruby red haired boy admitted, his hand rubbing the nape of his neck.

"Do y-you even understand what's going to happen?"

"God, I didn't mean to do it!" He frustratingly claimed.

"Just-just why would you think it would be r-remotely acceptable to kill her? She was never o-out to get yo–"

"Because I'm fucking in love with you, okay? And when you love someone as much as I love you you want to do everything you can for them. Understand now?" Josh sneered, clenching his fist.

Tyler's face softened, his arms uncrossing. "Josh, I-I just wish-"

"You don't understand why I did it. I don't even know. I just get mad." He replied agitatedly, noticing that Tyler didn't say he loved him back. 

"You need to l-learn to control yourself." 

Rolling his eyes, Josh ran a hand through his red hair. "I try, Tyler."

"Try harder!" He cried, wiping the tears spilling from his eyes, slamming his fist against his thigh out of anger. "What you did was s-so immature! I can't be-believe you killed one of my best friends!"

"She was the one who betrayed us! Don't make me seem like I'm the bad guy!" Josh yelled, getting closer to Tyler's face.

"You're the one who killed her!" Tyler shouted back.

"Why are you so pissed, huh? Were you in love with her or something?" Josh growled, grabbing Tyler's face firmly, the other hand grabbing Tyler's shoulder to aggressively hold him against the wall, his dominance taking over.

The brunette gasped, letting out whimper at the sudden pain flooding through his body. Once Josh realized what he had done, he had let go of his body in seconds, his mouth slightly open.

"No-no, baby, I–I didn't," He shook his head, his eyes fearful as Tyler backed away.

"Oh my god," He croaked, pulling his shaking body away from Josh, who tried to come closer to help. "Don't touch me!" He yelled. "Don't fucking touch me!"

The brunette walked farther away from him, opening the door with his mind as he walked out. His hands had never shaken so bad as he wiped his eyes, which were full of tears. 

"Tyler, c'mon!" Josh yelled, rushing to the door. Using his mind, the door was slammed in his face. "Fuck!" He cursed, heavy tears spilling from his eyes out of anger. 

Why couldn't he just control himself? He hated his powers. They were as much of a curse as a gift. This wasn't the first time Tyler had gotten hurt because of him. He kept jeopardizing Tyler's safety. Maybe it would just be better if he stayed away from him, to protect him. It would be the least he could do.

Josh grabbed the pack of cigarettes he'd been hiding from Tyler, pulling one open and lighting it with his finger. Inhaling the smoke had made his hands stop shaking as bad. It was a satisfying feeling, to say the least. Anxiety pooled in his stomach, but it didn't feel as bad for a few moments. 

Three sharp knocks on Brendon's door made the raven haired boy jolt in surprise. When the door opened, Brendon was quick to pull Tyler in, immediately questioning him about what happened. 

Tyler's face was a blotchy red, his cheeks coated with salty tears, his lips a cherry red from biting them so hard. Shaking hands tugged at his curly brown hair, his face and shoulder continuing to sting. 

The burn marks on his face were in the shape of a hand, starting on the right side of his jawline and ending on the left lower side of his neck. Josh's index finger had reached to the corner of Tyler's lip when he had gripped his face roughly. The marks his middle finger left were just above the left side of his jawline, Josh's ring finger had directly coated Tyler's jawline with a purple, red mark. His smallest finger's mark was under his jawline, the mark just as harsh as the others. His thumb's mark was on the right side of Tyler's jawline. 

"Tyler, what happened?"

"My sh-shoulder," He wailed, his hands tugging on his shirt. "It-it hurts s-so bad." He cried.

"Alright, Ty," Brendon pulled him in for a hug, trying to calm him down. The younger boy relaxed at the touch, but his body was still aching and shaking. "Relax, honey. We'll sort this out." He assured him, his calm voice soothing Tyler. 

"I'm s-s-sorry," He wept, his lisp very prominent as his coffee eyes shut, gripping Brendon's shirt tighter.

"Can I see your other burn?" Brendon requested, gently prying Tyler's grip from him.

The tan boy nodded, his caramel eyes opening as Brendon picked him up, sitting him on the kitchen counter. The light rose colored shirt Tyler was wearing was stripped from him, his glistening chest now exposed. He was sweating from anxiety, from the pain, from the thought of Josh. 

The slight gasp Tyler heard from the coal haired boy made him stiffen, looking down at him with uncertainty. The handprints were extremely visible, but the handprint on his shoulder was worse. His skin was torn and maroon liquid leaked from a few parts. Wine, rosewood, and mahogany colors coated his usually beige skin. The unusual colored skin was swelled up, looking almost blister like. 

Pearl teeth bitterly chewed on blush coated lips as Brendon grabbed translucent ice from the freezer. Wrapping it up in paper towels, he placed the covered ice onto Tyler's skin, feeling guilt prick his chest when the younger one winced.

"Do you know where Melanie is?"

The injured one nodded. "She's in that s-silver room. S-she's trying to heal Jenna." 

"Jenna?" Black eyebrows raised as he looked back at Tyler, confusion on his face.

"Jenna's dead," He summarized, his voice small.

"What?" Brendon's eyes watered. "How?" 

"Josh."

"And he did this to you, too?" He queried. Tyler nodded. "I'm gonna fucking kill him."

"No," The sixteen year old fearfully shook his head. "No, please."

"Why do you still care? He hurt you. He hurt you!" Brendon reprimanded, his fists clenching. Tyler flinched.

"I don't know," He honestly said. "I just–you can't hurt him. Please?" He begged. "Just please stay with me,"

The darker brunette contemplated about what to do, but he knew that Tyler needed him more. "But what about me getting Mel–"

"I don't care. Please just s-stay."

"Okay," He sighed.

"Can we go to s-sleep? I don't wanna think anymore," He mumbled.

Brendon complied, picking the brunette from off of the counter and carrying him into his room. After laying him down, he went to leave, but Tyler tugged on his hand.

"Stay," He whispered.

Listening, Brendon climbed into bed with him, pulling him onto his chest. His warm hands rubbed Tyler's back, and his eyes slipped shut. 

To say Brendon was shocked would be a lie. Jenna was dead. How was he supposed to react to that? He loved her. He didn't know what he felt for Tyler, but it definitely was something. His heart was racing when he opened the door and saw how horrible Tyler looked, even though he still looked gorgeous in Brendon's mind. When he found out that Josh was the culprit of Tyler's injuries, he wanted to kill him. He wanted two people he couldn't have. 

Jenna was dead, and even if she wasn't, it wouldn't have been able to work out. She was Magneto's daughter, and Brendon would never go against his team or his best friends like that. Even if it was for someone he loved.

Tyler was in love with Josh. Brendon knew that. He had seen it. He also knew that Josh loved Tyler more than anything. There was no way he would purposely hurt Tyler, and he knew that as well. Even though he just wanted to hate Josh, he couldn't. Josh wasn't trying to hurt him, even though he had accidentally did a few times.

Tyler knew that Josh loved him. He could see it when he looked at him. He saw the regret in his eyes when he had realized that he hurt Tyler. He shouldn't have been aggressive with him. He shouldn't have gripped Tyler in the way he did, even if his hands weren't hot. But, it was obvious he didn't mean to hurt him.

In a way, Tyler felt bad for leaving him like that. Josh needs support right now. The red haired boy was already going through so much, as he killed Jenna, and now people had another reason to get mad at him.

But he also knew he was entitled to feel upset. Intentional or not, he still burned him. Space was the best thing for both of them.

"Night, B." Tyler sleepily whispered.

"Sweet dreams, Ty. I'm so sorry this happened." 

"Me too, B." Tyler replied, his voice still quiet. "Me too."


	27. brendon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> elastic heart by sia. listen !!!

When Tyler woke up the next morning, an outlandish feeling towards Josh sparked. He couldn't quite put his finger on the word to describe the feeling; apprehensive, perhaps? The scent of Brendon paraded through the younger boy's nose as he let out a sigh. Unlike usual, this sigh wasn't out of content. Feeling content wouldn't be appropriate for him right now.

A part of him wondered how Josh was doing. Did he wake up yet? How did he sleep, if he did? Was he holding up okay? Tyler left him very abruptly, and he was beginning to miss him. As much as he wanted to remain choleric with Josh, he inevitably couldn't.

Deciding against getting up, he cuddled back into Brendon's chest, his gingerbread eyes shutting once again. A hum came from Brendon, whom was still sleeping, as Tyler was pulled closer to his body. They were lucky that they had almost another two hours before class started. 

Joshua had been up for almost an hour, pointlessly staring at the ceiling. More than anything, he wanted to find Tyler and kiss him a hundred times and assure him that he was so, so, sorry. However, it wasn't as easy as that. He was prevented from doing so because he didn't know where Tyler was.

Debby was sitting next to him, staring at him worriedly. She knew what happened, according to Josh, and she thought that he was in the wrong in this situation. Josh knew he was wrong as well, so he was appreciative of her staying with him despite the circumstances. 

"You know...I feel numb, sorta." He confessed, finally looking at her.

"Sort of?" With furrowed eyebrows, she repeated.

"Like..not the numb where you can't feel anything, the numb where you push what you're feeling away."

Understanding what he meant, she nodded. "I'm sure this will be fixed today. You just need to talk to him."

"That's the thing. I don't want to. I don't want to see his reaction. He'll probably yell at me or something."

Biting her lip, Debby glanced towards the ceiling. "I don't really know. You'll have to play it by ear, I guess."

Almost 6 hours later, Tyler and Josh were going to see each other for the first time that day. Forth period was positively a dread. 

Tyler was going to pretend like Joshua didn't exist while Brendon dismissed all of the questions Tyler would get about his face. That was their plan, at least. Keeping track of how many times someone popped the question 'What happened to your face?' was impossible. Far too many people queried the rather intrusive question, and both Brendon and Tyler were sick of it.

Hand in hand, the duo opened the door to the classroom. There was an empty seat next to Josh, simply because Tyler always sat there. Today, that seat would remain empty. A few heads turned at the sound of the door opening. Gasps filled the atmosphere once people got a glimpse of Tyler's condition. Joshua had his head in his hands as he realized the full extent of what he did.

Throughout the whole lesson, the rouge eyed boy was continuously reliving last nights events, pointing out more things he did wrong each time. Paying attention to the lesson was impossible, and certainly wasn't happening. Tyler was he same. He couldn't concentrate on anything.

Everything was cloudy grey skies and dark storms, much like the ones Patrick crafted with his own hands. The only difference would be that Patrick's were real, and Tyler's weren't.

Lunch was just as dreadful. Everyone was talking as if everything were normal, besides Tyler and Josh. The two of them were sitting as far apart as possible, avoiding each other's gazes even though both of them hadn't dared to look at each other while being in that close of proximity.

Brendon was squeezing Tyler's hand under the table, as Tyler focused on Josh's mind, which wasn't blocked for some reason. 

Tyler must have been looking at Josh long enough for him to realize that he was hearing what he was saying, because within seconds his thoughts were cut out. Huffing, Tyler averted his gaze, as well as Josh. 

Chafed, caramel eyes locked towards his own lap, ignoring the world around him. He no longer was focusing on the words his peers were saying. 

Later that night, the two boys were enjoying each other's company, watching random murder documentaries upon Tyler's request. The genre of films were his favorite; he much preferred factual films rather than fictional ones because he thought they were silly. Brendon and Tyler's legs were laced together, the younger boy lying on top of him, their breaths in sync, calm aroma floating over them. 

The beige colored boy slightly jumped when he heard a knock on the door, pondering if it was Josh behind the white wood. Sighing, Tyler unlocked the door with his mind, resting his head on Brendon's chest after doing so.

Debby, Josh, and Ashley were quick to enter. Both girls were a little bewildered by the sight of the the pair, but Josh wasn't. If anything, he was umbrageous. Seeing them together made him covetous, because he was Tyler's and Tyler was supposed to be his. 

Although it was immensely difficult, he told himself that it was friendly gesture. He hoped that, to say the least.

Even without reading his mind, he knew that Josh believed that the only reason Tyler was sticking to Brendon to comfort was out of spite. While it made sense, the accusation wasn't legitimate. Genuinely, Tyler was heavily reliant on Brendon. The older boy was his number one source of comfort.

However, that wasn't important at that moment. Pushing all of his feelings aside, he looked stared at his hands as he spoke. "They got us again."

Tyler sat up at the words, his brows furrowing. "What?"

"Mutants. They killed three kids." Ashley summarized, locking eyes with Brendon.

"In our group?" Brendon questioned. 

"No. They're younger than us. Like, Millie's age." Ashley replied.

"Finn isn't-well, wasn't. He just turned 15. He was closer to our age." Debby reminded her.

"W-who were the other two kids?" Tyler supplicated, chewing on his lip.

"Their names were Grace, Finn, and Noah."

"Oh my gosh. That's awful." Brendon sympathized. 

As much as Tyler agreed, his brain was all over the place. Unwillingly, his eyes were glued on Josh. There was a pang of guilt he felt because he had left him.

Of course Josh felt the same way. He wanted Tyler, he craved Tyler just as much, if not more. He was still trying to subside his emotions towards the two boys laying on the couch, but he knew he honestly couldn't. He has yet to lift his eyes from his hands. Once he saw Tyler's face, he couldn't look at it again. The mark he left was so prominent, so apparent, and it killed him. Without a doubt, any bystander could clearly detect that the mark that was on his jawline, chin, and neck was a handprint. It'd take a long time for him to forgive himself.

Although in his eyes he didn't deserve it, he wished Tyler would forgive him. However, he didn't really gain forgiveness yet. Waiting it out would be so challenging, but he couldn't bring himself to approach Tyler, let alone pressure him into a forgiveness he hadn't earned.

As Debby informed the two boys about the urgent G21 meeting, Tyler zoned out again. It wasn't like he didn't care, he did, it was just that he couldn't bring himself to get out of the dorm room. He looked awful. His burn mark was red and patchy, and their was no way he'd willingly go out.

After the three of them exited, Brendon rubbed his shoulder softly, in as soothing matter. "I'm going to go to the meeting. I'll be back as soon as I can, and I'll fill you in on everything. You're welcome to come if you want, but I'd figured that you wouldn't because of what happened." The younger boy nodded although the words made him feel shitty. 

Why couldn't Brendon just say it as it was? It was a burn. Very simple. There was no need to sugar coat it. He understood what happened. Unintentionally, he was burned. He liked being babied to an extent, and this was it. He was mature enough to understand what happened. It wasn't like it was a death or something. Just a burn. A bad burn, but a burn nonetheless. 

A tan hand ran through caramel colored hair once the door was shut, indicating Brendon had left. Part of him knew that he should've gone, and the other part of him didn't care.

Why did he have to miss Josh so much? Cinnamon hues eyes involuntarily watered, and he sighed in annoyance. He felt so pathetic to continuously cry, but he couldn't help it. 

He wanted Josh.

But he couldn't.

Resisting what he really wanted was difficult. But before he knew it, his body came in contact with Brendon's and his teary eyes vanished. It was slightly astonishing how fast his emotions could adjust when he was within the presence of someone who could affect his mood in a superb way.

"Hey," The almond colored eyes boy spoke, the side of his lip titling onto a sparse smile. "You okay?"

Tyler couldn't help but cringe at the term, his face contorting into what one would consider a look of dissatisfaction. "I hate that word, in-in that term."

Clearing the tears off of his face, a weak smile coated Brendon's glowy face. "Don't worry then. I won't use it like that." He assured him.

"Thanks," He mumbled quietly, his lisp more pronounced because he wasn't attempting to fix his speech.

"What's on your mind, Ty?" He interrogated, helping the boy comfortably lay on his chest.

"Josh," He admitted, sighing.

"Figured." The raven haired boy muttered, although the words stung. "What about him?" 

"I-" Tyler sighed again. "I miss him. I know it's been t-t-tw—" Again, he sighed, this time out of annoyance because he couldn't manage to get the word 'two' out of his mouth. "-only a few days, but I miss him."

"Ty, you can't keep guilt tripping yourself about this. You're allowed to miss him."

Tyler tried to listen to his words, but it was difficult. He knew how Brendon felt about him, and judging by his current thoughts, the feeling has yet to cease. He felt even worse. 

Brendon probably felt shitty too. Regret filled his system. Dealing with this own his own would've been better. That way, he wouldn't have hurt anyone.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, running a hand through his curly chestnut hair subconsciously.

"For?" Questioned Brendon, confused by the sudden apology.

"For dragging you into this. For ruining your friendship with Josh. For not feeling the way you do about me,–" He listed off, but was interrupted.

"You didn't ruin my friendship with Josh." Brendon assured him. "I'm pissed at him, yes, but our friendship isn't ruined. We got over the fact that we both like you. I know he thinks that we're spending time together to spite him, but I know you're not like that and I'm not either, so.." He trailed off. "As for liking you, don't apologize. I'm fine. I'll get over it. I'm glad you're still my friend and that you aren't weirded out by it. Most people would try to avoid me if they were in your position. It sucks to not have you the way Josh does, but I'm glad I have the privilege of calling you my friend. Make sense?"

A smile reappeared on Tyler's lips at the information. "Yeah. Thanks, Bren."

"Anyti–" Brendon began, but was interrupted when the door suddenly opened.

"You have to come right now!"


	28. mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yikes this chapter is short  
> anyway   
> listen to alone by lund while reading pls<3

Tyler felt sick to his stomach at the news Charles revealed to him. Why did it have to be problem after problem? Couldn't Magneto leave them alone for a split second? Tyler was already having problems with Joshua, and now this? How on earth did this even happen?

 

As if Brendon was reading his mind, he asked the question. "How did this happen?"

 

Tyler didn't hear his words, however. His thoughts were too crowded to hear or process what Brendon was thinking. He wanted to die. Guilty. Guilty, guilt, guilty. He was guilty. This was his fault and his fault alone.

 

Even as his peers began to attempt to get his attention, to refocus him on the important task at hand, he still was zoned out. Everything hurt. The boy was surprised he hadn't passed out yet because he sure felt like he was going to.

 

"Ty? You okay?" 

 

"Tyler?"

 

"Tyler?"

 

"Tyler!" The brunette jumped, his body erupting with heat as his face flushed. The loud tone startled him, making his heart face even faster than before.

 

"S-sorry," He whispered, looking at Brendon, his eyes squeezing shut. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes again. 

 

"I'm gonna take Tyler out of here. I think he needs time to think." Brendon muttered, not really asking Tyler, but not really needing to. He knew that Tyler needed to relax and gather himself. It was obvious.

 

Although he didn't say it, he was grateful. Grateful to escape the stares from his friends and the words (that were more like knives) from Charles. He wanted to wake up and have everything tell him it was joke. 

 

"Alright. I'll have someone fill you in on the missed information." Charles replied, giving Brendon a nod. 

 

It may not have seemed like much to anyone else, but Brendon knew what his silent nod meant: To make sure Tyler was okay. The raven hair boy swiftly nodded back, his soft hands intertwining with Tyler's much smaller ones.

 

"Sweetheart, everything's gonna be alright." The curly brunette didn't believe his words. 

 

"How the fuck did this happen?" Tyler sputtered out, both of them not realizing that his stutter wasn't prominent in his words. He ran his manicured nails through his curly brown hair. "God, I ho-ope he's safe." He whispered. 

 

"He is." Brendon tried to assure him. Tyler wasn't having it, however.

 

"But-but what if he's not?" The younger doubted.

 

"Ty, positive thoughts, remember?" He reminded him.

 

"Y-yeah." He replied weakly.

 

How was he supposed to think positive? What about this could be considered positive? This wasn't good for anyone on the X-Men team, especially Tyler. 

 

Hopelessness clouded his thoughts as his eyes began to water. Large hands wiped the tears and quickly pulled him into an embrace, muffling the sob Tyler softly released.

 

"I'm sorry," The noir haired boy mumbled into Tyler's head.

 

"Not your fault," He shook his head, beginning to leave tear stains on Brendon's jean jacket. 

 

Brendon realized what Tyler meant as soon as he said that – it was his fault. He quickly pulled Tyler back from his chest. "Hey," He consoled softly. "You didn't do this either. This isn't your fault, Ty. Understand?"

 

It was too hard for the chestnut eyed boy to nod, so he shrugged slightly. "I guess," He whispered, leaning back into his chest.

 

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I really am." Brendon spoke, although his words didn't really help Tyler at all. His hands soothingly ran down Tyler's back, sending the boy a few shivers.

 

"You-you didn't do an-anything," The curly haired boy replied into his chest. "Can I just be alone?"

 

Brendon seemed slightly taken back from his words, but nodded nonetheless. "Y-yeah. Of course."

 

"Thank you." The younger boy smiled slightly, despite his growing urge to cry again.  
"For everything." He exhaled.

 

"Of course." He nodded. "I'll leave you alone, then. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

 

"Yeah," Tyler replied, his eyes closed as he thought out what he wanted to do. "Of course."

 

"Alright. Well, I'll–uh, see you later."

 

"Yeah. See you."

 

It was a mistake. Brendon should have never left Tyler alone.


	29. mind games n metal helmets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen to my blood while reading

Fuck.

He should have thought this through. Coming with no protection was stupid. It didn't matter if he was one of the strongest X-Men. He didn't stand a chance against all of them at once. Not even Professor X would have been able to do that. 

When Tyler knocked on Spencer's dorm room two hours after Brendon left him alone and asked him if he could track where Magneto was, he should've known something was up. Instead, he just complied to Tyler's wishes and did as told.

Then again, it wasn't really like he had a choice—Tyler forced him to and then wiped the memory of it. 

As soon as he found out where he was, he found Debby. He was up east coast, a lot farther from the Academy then he thought it would be. Using his mind control again, he got Debby to teleport him to the unfamiliar location and quickly wiped the memory from her.

This whole idea was very sneaky, but Tyler couldn't wait for Charles to come with some sort of plan. Not when it involved Josh.

Tyler was placed right in Magneto's office as soon as he was teleported. The whole place gave him a prison aroma, and his heart thumped in his chest.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Mr. Joseph himself."

"Fuck you. You took him!"

"You killed my daughter."

"I didn't do anything!" He scoffed. "I was in a wheel-wheelchair recovering because you tried to kill me!"

"He killed her, Tyler. I'm not as clueless as you think."

"It's your fault, if anything. You forced her to become one of us. We were bound to found out who she really was at some point." Tyler argued back, his chest rising up and down furiously.

"False. If you wouldn't have come along, they would've never known. This is all on you."

Tyler let the words settle in. They sunk into his brain and skin like daggers, like bullets, like nails.

Was it all on him?

Tyler was starting to realize he was dumb for doing this. Even though it was done out of love, one could wonder, how could Tyler be so stupid? None of his tricks worked against Magneto. Not with that helmet on, at least.

Could he really be the one to blame?

No. He couldn't let his words get to him.

"S-stop it." Tyler dismissed his doubt. "I know what you're trying to do. It isn't working."

Magneto smirked. "So, what you're saying is that you don't blame yourself for killing those people? You don't think it your fault Josh was dealing with so much stress that he started smoking cigarettes?" Tyler's eyes widened. Since when did Josh smoke? 

"What?"

Magneto continued. "You don't think it's your fault that you broke Josh and Brendon's friendship up? You don't think it's your fault that Brendon is heartbroken because you're too caught up on Josh?" Tyler was trying his best not to listen to his words. This was only what Jenna told him, and Jenna didn't know everything about it, he assured himself.

But if Magneto wanted to play mind games, he could too. 

"It's your fault all of these kids are dead. Your daughter w-was in love with Brendon, too, you know. He liked her even though he liked me too. You took her hap-happiness away from her. She enjoyed being with us. S-she didn't ever think about you until you s-started to become more problematic. She was happy. Without you. Not only did you take her happiness, but you took away her life. Some kind of father you are." He fired back.

Before Tyler could react, he was pinned up against the wall, his breathing increasing rapidly.

"Starting to feel bad, Mag?" He questioned. 

Magneto was seeing so many signs of Charles in the younger boy. 

His determination was a major one. Charles had always had determination to make everything right. His attempts to make every party of an issue satisfied was a common issue between the two of them. It seemed as if Charles didn't care if Magneto's needs weren't met. He always claimed that Magneto's hatred for humans was absurd. Maybe it was. Maybe, Magneto hated regular people because of the way they treated him when he was a child. The did kill his mother and force experiments upon them, so it did make sense. But then again, maybe he could've realized that not every human was like that. 

Charles tried to show him, prove to him, that there were millions of humans who looked up to the X-Men and appreciated and expressed gratitude towards them. But his past was constant reminder. It was splash of water to the face of reality; humans were still the people who stripped him of his childhood. Humans were the people who took him away from his mother, who shot her in front of him, who researched him and made him do things he didn't want to.

Magneto also saw the similarities in there powers, obviously. It almost killed him, the constant reminder that Tyler was the next generation of Charles Xavier. It killed him to know that Tyler would use his powers to benefit the humans and go against his own kind.

It was quite hypocritical. Magneto was going against his own kind as well. Hell, he even went against his very own best friend.

And as refreshing as it was to see a reminder of his old best friend, he had to remember that Charles was now his enemy. 

"S-starting to realize all you've done?"

Magneto inhaled deeply, his grip on Tyler never faltering.

"Starting to realize that-that you killed your own daughter for your petty needs?"

And that was the final straw.

Tyler was punched right the jaw, and within seconds, Tyler was able to get the metal helmet off of Magneto's head and throw him against the opposite side of the wall, using his mind of course. 

Tyler was quick to make sure he was unable to move as he asked his next question, using his mind to restrain him.

"Where is Josh?" Tyler queried, stepping closer. He had to let him go in order for him to speak. 

The helmet flew back in Magneto's hand in seconds, and Tyler's eyes widened.

"I'll let you chose what's next, Tyler." He offered.

"Either you leave now and without Josh, or you give me your powers and leave with him."

Tyler's eyes opened wider than ever before. "I-I-" He stuttered.

"What's it gonna be, Tyler?" Magneto questioned, walking closer to him, giving him barely anytime to think.

Roughly, Tyler swallowed.  "Can-can I see him?" 

"You've got 3 minutes. Don't keep me waiting. Michael, take him to Joshua Dun." Magneto called out, sending chills down Tyler's spine.

Aggressively, Tyler was shoved forward by this Micheal character. "Watch it," Tyler hissed to him, shoving his harsh grip off.

Soon enough, Tyler in front a white room with a glass door. Michael's pale hands were pressed against it, and the door opened up. His red hair was a mess, his skin was bruised, and his head was buried into his crossed arms, which where over his knees.

"Josh?" Tyler called out softly. His heart sank when Joshua looked up from his fetal position, as he saw the state he was in. "Oh, Josh,"

As a quiet gasp escape his lips, Josh's red eyes widened more than ever before. "Tyler?" He whispered. "Is that..really you?" 

The statement slightly confused Tyler. Why wouldn't it be him? "Uh..yeah?" He spoke, but it sounded more like a question. "Why wouldn't it be?" 

Fear flashed within Josh's eyes, causing his head to beginning to shake. "Nothing. No reason," He was scared to say it, Tyler could hear him thinking about it. There was no forcefield to protect him like usual. It made Tyler scared. Why wasn't Josh using his powers?

"You're scared," He observed, crouching down, furrowing his brow. He gently touched his face, the pads of his fingers grazing Joshua's cheekbones.

"I'm not," He mumbled so quietly that Tyler could barley hear him.

"I hear you," Tyler reminded him with a small smile. It was kind of strange, to hear him. It had been forever since Tyler got a glimpse of what Josh thought. Unfortunately, to be honest, Tyler wished he didn't hear him at this very moment. Josh was very scared. "Why isn't your force field on?"

Instead of a verbal response, Josh just shook his head.

Just think it. Tyler said, but only in Josh's mind.

They took my powers. Josh replied.

"Times up," Michael's voice made Tyler jump.

"Fuck," He muttered. Michael's hands were suddenly on him, grabbing Tyler's arms and putting them behind his back. "Dude, get off," He struggled.

"Stop resisting!" Michael hissed.

"Get off!" Tyler tried to fight back, but within seconds a needle was in his neck, and Tyler could feel himself losing strength. "I'm gonna get you out," Was the last thing he told Josh before he blacked out.


	30. trick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ive been writing this for over 2 years.  
> crazy.  
> listen to anathema when reading.

"Did you really think I'd let you go, Tyler?"

He was in restraints. The room was all white, and the chair he was in was brown. The sides of it cuffed his arms down, making him unable to move. He couldn't hear anyone's thoughts. Panicked eyes glanced around the room in search for Josh. He tried to turn his head to look for him, but it hurt his burns. Was he okay? What were they doing to him? How long was he out?

Blood was rushing through his body, heart racing faster than it ever did. "I-I don't really know-know what I was thinking to be honest." The brunette shrugged. 

He had decided to act as if he was unaffected. It seemed like the best option at the moment. If he couldn't use his mind powers, he use mind games.

Magneto seemed to be taken back such an honest reply. "You're telling me you didn't plan this?" His voice was skeptical as he spoke. 

"That's exactly what I'm tell-telling you. How c-could I plan anything if I had no clue as to what wa-was going on?" Tyler rolled his eyes, attitude piercing through his words.

"You're making my job much easier. Why?"

"I've b-barely recovered from dying, which again was your fault." The brunette's eyes shut briefly, trying to gather his thoughts together as he clenched his fists. "Everything is your fault. You g-got your daughter killed for your own needs. You tried to kill me, you nearly killed Char-Charles. And now you're trying to kill the one I love because he killed your daughter after betraying u-us and briefly killing me."

The older man was getting much angrier at his words. "She did not kill you."

"Yes, s-s-she didn't. But she's the reason you knew what was happening, which resulted in my quick death," He explained, sighing in disinterest.

"It was under my orders. It was not her fault. I tried to kill you."

"O-obviously," Tyler scoffed. "I'm not fucking stupid. Why do you think I've s-said everything is your fault?"

Although Tyler couldn't hear him, he knew he was pushing it. "I'm going to give you a choice. You're going to permanently hand over your powers to me, or Josh is dead. You choose."

-

Back at the academy, everyone in the group was in a state of panic. 

"We should stayed with told him," Debby sighed, shaking her head.

"He's still recovering. He's too sick to be doing this shit. We have to go save him." Brendon muttered.

"And Josh. We still have to get Josh." Ashley reminded him.

"No offense or anything, but if I see him I might duck his face in. I don't want to look at him right now." The raven haired boy replied, tugging his hands through hair.

"No offense, but your feelings do not matter right now. This is life or death. Josh is your best friend. He messed up, but this is his life we're talking about." Ashely replied, narrowing her eyes at him.

Brendon didn't want to admit that she was right, but he knew deep down she was He already knew Josh felt awful. He had apologized already. The guilt was eating him alive. Tyler would forgive him, so he would have to, too.

"What's our plan?" Haley questioned, looking at the three of them with anxiety present in her eyes.

"I don't think we can establish a plan. We just have to go. We really don't even have time to fly there." Debby decided, feeling her stomach begin to ache.

"Teleport chain?" Brendon queried with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. We're going to have to get everyone, and fast." 

"You're right. I'll get everyone on this side, you go left," Ashely directed. "Bren, tell Charles. We don't have much time."

Brendon found himself sprinting towards his professor's room faster than he ever had. He didn't even knock, instead opting for barging into the room with a panicked expression. "We have to go now. Tyler left, and he's going to save Josh."

"What? Brendon, you said you were staying with him!"

"He needed time alone. He said he wanted to think. I didn't think he would do that,"

"This is incredibly dangerous. Do you realize what kind of danger Tyler's put us all in?"

Those words sparked anger from the much younger boy. "No, actually. It wasn't his fault. He was scared. He wanted to protect Josh."

"But we were establishing a plan-"

"A plan that we didn't have time to make!" The brown eyed boy raised his voice, frustration lacing his words. "What if Josh had died? What if they're both dead right now? There's absolutely no predicting what's bound to happen as of right now. How could you /possibly/ expect Tyler to wait for us to make a plan when the boy he loves could be killed any second?"

Charles' eyes were wide, shocked that Brendon would have such an outburst towards him. "Brendon, I don't know what to say." He admitted, suddenly seeming uncomfortable.

"Don't say anything. Just come. We need to rescue them now."

—

 

"Tyler, don't you dare do this." Josh warned, shaking his head.

Tyler had an idea. His powers were coming back after being injected, and he was going to have to be careful and discrete.

Brown eyes were filling with tears, breathing becoming unsteady. "I-I–Josh, I have to," He shook his head, backing away as Magneto slowly approached him.

"For fucks sake, Tyler. Don't you fucking dare." Josh swore, trying to fight the restraints he was put in. He couldn't stand to see his happen.

Tyler walked up to Joshua slowly, placing his hand on his cheek. "I love you, an-and I'm going to do everything I can to save you. I'm s-sorry." 

"Tyler, fuck, please do-" Within seconds, Josh's eyes were closed, sleep taking over his body thanks to Tyler.

"Josh?" He faked. "Josh, wake up! Wha-what did you do to him?" He shrieked, allowing his eyes to release fresh tears.

If there was one thing that was going to save them, it would be Tyler faking this. If he could pull this off, everything would be okay.

"...What?" Magneto furrowed his eyebrows at the sight in front of him. He was getting confused. It was working.

"What the fuck did you do to him?" Tyler whimpered, grabbing Josh's hands into his. "What happened to our deal? What's wrong with him?" Tyler cried out, panicked. His eyes were wide and teary, his other hand aggressively grabbing Josh's face. "Josh, baby," He whispered. "I-I-I need you to wake up for me." 

He knew Magneto could hear him, and he continued to let out small cries, trying to really get it through to him how upset he was. "Michael?" The much older man called out. "Did you do something to him?"

"I can't even u-use my powers to hear if he-he's thinking," Tylee whined, forcing his eyes to tear up. "We had a deal, we had a deal," The brunette repeated, placing his hand on Josh's cheek to stare at him. 

"Tyler, I don't–"

"You can't kill him!" He interrupted, his voice much louder than before. "We had a deal! I w-was going to give you my powers-s," Tyler suddenly backed away from Josh, covering his face with his arms that were prompted on his knees. Magneto couldn't see his face but he knew he was crying. 

Confused, Magneto began to walk closer, trying to pin point why Josh was no longer awake. Tyler look this as an opportunity to kick him in the leg, causing him to fall back into the floor. Within seconds, the metal helmet was in Tyler's hands. He used his mind control to make Michael not be able to see anything and Magneto to sleep as he forced Josh to wake up.

"I need you to melt this," He spat out, shoving the helmet into his hands. "Now."

"I can't." The red haired boy shook his head, a worried and fearful expression in his face. "Ty, I can't use my powers,"

"You have to try, Josh." Tyler pleaded.

"Tyler, I can't." Josh muttered.

"Please," He begged.

Josh rolled his eyes, letting out an aggravated sigh. "Listen, I-"

"I need you to try." Tyler pressed. "Please? For me."

"Jesus christ, I can't." 

"Try!" 

"I can't!"

"I s-swear to fucking god, Josh, if you don't-" Within seconds, the helmet was being melted in Josh's bare hands. The restraints he was in were melting too, but Tyler didn't mention it.

Tyler smirked, giving Josh an 'I told you so' look. "Fuck you." He muttered. 

"Maybe later. Kinda dealing with so-something right now." He shrugged.


	31. forgiveness

"Are you ready?" Josh spat out quickly.

"What?" Tyler furrowed his brows.

"That day, when we were making a plan and Ashley was there, except she was Jenna, we-we established a plan. Do you remember it?"

"Wipe his memory," Tyler nodded.

"We need to wipe his memory of Jenna."

"But that's-s his daughter," Tyler drowned.

"Ty, we don't have time. She's dead. It's either we wipe his memory or he tries to wipe out the Academy."

The caramel eye colored boy felt his eyes water. "I know, I just feel bad,"

Josh started hearing footsteps. His heart was racing. "Tyler, it's now or never."

Tyler felt as if his chest were to explode, his eyes watering and hands shaking as he placed both of his hands on Magneto's unconscious state, power flooding through his veins and into Magneto's head, feeling himself lose power second by second. 

The boy was still weak. He was still recovering and he had already used power on Josh. He didn't have much left, and his body felt weak. 

"Ty, you okay?" Josh questioned, concerned. 

Hands shook as he shook his head. No, he wasn't okay. He could barely feel anything and his ears were ringing. 

The footsteps were coming closer.

Tyler could still hear loads of people in the building thinking, and not one of them were aware of Magneto's state. He considered that to be a blessing, though. The brunette could only imagine what would happen if the two boys had to fight hundreds of mutants by themselves. Tyler didn't doubt Josh's abilities, (he could probably wipe out a good amount of people with one fire ball) but he knew that it took a lot of energy to do all of that. So, Tyler would remain grateful and hopeful about them not knowing.

"Tyler?" Voice raised slightly, Josh asked.

He could see the memories now. Jenna as a baby, her first steps, her first giggle, her first word, the first time she hugged her father; gone. 

The footsteps were becoming louder and louder by the second.

Memories of Jenna using her powers for the first time, learning to gain control, pledging to be loyal to her father at any cost; gone.

The footsteps were even louder. The sixteen year old's heart felt as if it was going to beat out of his chest.

He had never had to wipe someone's memory before, and even though he was only wiping part of it, he was feeling more drained and drained as he cleared Magneto's head.

The footsteps were approaching.

Within the next seconds, Tyler felt himself losing control, his red eyes growing heavy as he collapsed onto the ground.

"Tyler?" Josh questioned worriedly, grabbing the boy's shoulders and shaking them vigorously. He sighed, picking up the limp body and running in the opposite way the footsteps were coming.

Josh had no idea how he managed to get out of the building, but the second he got a breath of fresh air, it felt as if a weight was being lifted off of his shoulders. 

In all honesty, Josh had no idea where he was going. However, that didn't stop him from holding Tyler close and running as fast as he could. Wherever his legs were willing to take him, he was willing to go. 

Running was the only thing he could focus on. They had to escape. Josh had just gotten Tyler back and he most certain wasn't going to lose him again.

He only stopped once he heard Tyler's frail voice, just above a whisper.

"Joshie? Where are we?"

"I don't know, baby. But we're far away from Magneto and anyone who can hurt you. Charles has trackers in us and I know they'll find us soon. Don't worry, alright?"

"Alright," He murmured. "My body hurts." He whispered.

"You worked so hard. I don't blame you." He replied softly. 

"I wish I didn't feel pain like Mel," Tyler whispered, feeling his eyes close again. 

Josh settled against a tree, allowing Tyler to lay on his lap. When he woke for the second time, he seemed more awake. "I still can't believe you did that," Josh whispered.

As they waited for G21 arrive, with their knees pressed against chests; backs against the trees, Tyler started shaking again. Josh had no idea what was happening or what was going to happen. Neither did Tyler, even though he wanted to assure Josh that the group was probably going to be here soon. Really, they could only hope. Magneto would only remain unconscious for so long.

"I c-can't believe I did that." Tyler replied shakily, after a while. He seemed fully alert again. 

"You alright?" Josh questioned, although he had a feeling that he already knew the answer.

"I think. I'm just a bit s-shaken up, is all."

"I figured. Me too." He whispered in response.

"I feel terrible. That was his daughter. I just completely wiped out every memory of his own daughter. That's s-s-so awful of me," He whispered, wiping his eyes quickly.

"Ty, don't beat yourself up for this. You did the right thing."

"It doesn't feel like it," He whispered, staring in the opposite direction Josh was in.

"I know. But I'm so proud of you. Think about all the lives you just saved."

Tyler smiled slightly at that, but then his frown reappeared. "God, I c-can't believe you were there for that long and I didn't know about it. This is why we c-can't fight. Bad thi-things always happen because we fight."

"It wasn't that long, Ty. Only a–"

"Only? Josh, living just for a day is d-difficult there. Let alone, eight. I d-don't know how you aren't dead.." He retorted, his words faltering on the last parts of his response. He was started to tear up and Josh took that opportunity to hold his hand.

"Baby?" He said softly, teary eyes looking up at him.

"Yes?"

Start the song. It's Lay me down by Sam Smith.

"I'm okay. You didn't do anything wrong. You saved me, and I'm so thankful."

That seemed to soothe Tyler, seeing as he let his head rest on Josh's shoulder and took a shaky breath.

"Sorry if I'm overreacting," Tyler started, but was quickly interrupted.

"You aren't." Josh dismissed his worries. "But can we talk about what happened before I got thrown in here?"

Tyler was slightly dreading this conversation. He nodded anyways. "Yeah, 'course."

"First off, I want to say I'm sorry. For everything. For overreacting, and killing Jenna, and what I did to your face. I fucked up, big time. I'm really sorry, Ty." 

His hands were shaking as he spoke, and Tyler couldn't resist the urge to grab them. The brunette had almost forgotten about the mark Josh had made on his face until he mentioned it. The mark was almost completely healed, thanks to Melanie. 

"I know, J." Tyler murmured, squeezing his hands. "I should've let you explain. It doesn't give you a right to accidentally burn me every time you're mad but we both have to remember that your body naturally heats up when serotonin is released in your brain. I'm not mad at you for something you cannot control. But, you have to work on not touching me when you're mad."

"I can definitely do that."

"And I know what you did was in my best interest but I need you to think things through before you do them. Can you try that for me?"

"I'm not going to try, I'm going to do it."

The response made Tyler smile. "Good. You're forgiven, by the way. I know you didn't mean to hurt me."

"Thank you, Ty. I don't know what I did to deserve you."

The tan boy hid his face in Josh's shoulder. "S-stop," He stuttered, flustered and blushing.

"Angel?"

A pink blush expanded on his cheeks as he hid further in Josh's shoulder. "Yes?" He replied, voice muffled.

"Can I ask you something that is definitely not appropriate at the moment but definitely necessary for my happiness?"

Tyler giggled, his crooked teeth on full display as he peaked his head out to look at the older boy. "Go for it, Joshie."

"Would you, by any chance, quite possibly, maybe consider, just a little-"

"Can you get to the point?" He interrupted, a small smile on his face.

Josh sighed. "Fine. Tyler Joseph, would you do me the honor of being my boyfriend?"

Brown eyes shut, a smile spreading across the younger boy's face. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to ask me that?"

Tyler didn't say yes. It made Josh anxious.

"Is that a yes?" The red haired boy questioned with uncertainty. 

"Obviously, Joshie. We were practically together already. Just didn't have a label, really." Tyler grinned. "Plus, I'm kind of, you know, in love with you."

Josh grinned. "Really? I'm kind of in love with you also."

"Dude! That's sick!"

"It's so sick!" Josh mimicked, laughing slightly. 

"You know what's more sick?" Tyler asked. 

"What?"

"How much I love you. It's kinda gross, to be honest." He shrugged.

"I love you so much more, and that might be even sicker." Josh grinned.


	32. epilogue

it's over! :(

thank u so much for reading, guys. i really love all of you and i thank u so much for reading this even though it's kinda bad lmfao

if you ever want me to do a one shot based off of this tyler and josh or like just want me to write something for you in general, let me know. i got u!

 

who was your favorite character?

 

 

-

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

"So you guys are officially official?" Brendon questioned, raising his eyebrows and looking back and forth between them.

 

"Yeah," Tyler nodded, a slight blush draping his cheeks. Josh was quick to kiss his head, as he couldn't reach the rest of Tyler's face because Tyler was laying on him.

 

"Finally." Ashley spoke as Debby muttered, "It took you long enough."

 

"Hey," Josh frowned. "I was just waiting for the right moment. And when I realized that that would never come I asked." He defended himself.

 

"So you didn't think asking them that time you kissed would've been appropriate?" Pete raised his eyebrows.

 

"I didn't wanna rush it." He muttered.

 

"And you think kissing him first isn't 'rushing?'" Scarlett giggled.

 

"No!" He exclaimed. "I don't know. Kissing him felt right. I probably should have asked him out way sooner, considering I was already in love with before I even asked."

 

The words made Tyler turn a bright red and he hid his face from his friend, opting to stare into Josh's torso because his head was resented on Josh's thighs. "Love you more." He whispered into Josh, the smile yet to leave his face.

 

Josh's hands soothed Tyler's back as he continued to engage in the conversation Tyler wasn't paying much mind to. "Definitely not, angel."

 

Tyler buried his face deeper to Josh, letting out a small whine, erupting a chuckle from his boyfriend. "Joshie, no." He removed his face from Josh's torso to look up at him sideways, his face only towards Josh as he pouted his lip.

 

"You're so cute when you think you're right." He cooed, kissing the top of his nose.

 

"M' right." He continued to pout.

 

"You can think that, lovebug."

 

Tyler continued to pout, getting up from his position and sitting up a on the opposite of the couch, crossing his arms. "Hmph." He exhaled.

 

Josh grinned towards him, shrugging. "You're gonna get cold in two minutes and come back."

 

"I'll get a blanket."

 

"But you'll still be cold." Josh replied, nodding his head as he spoke.

 

"Then I'll get two blankets." Rolling his eyes, Tyler moved even farther away from Josh.

 

"They're not as warm as I am. But it's cool if you wanna he stubborn. I guess I'll find someone else to cuddle with even though they're not my baby-" Josh began, but was interrupted by Tyler climbing into his lap. "That's what I thought." He murmured, wrapping his arms around his waist, a subconscious smiling spreading to his face when Tyler leaned in to his neck.

 

Who knew being in love could be so wonderful? Josh was so unbelievably grateful for Tyler. Everything with him was pure bliss. Genuine happiness; it's an incredible feeling.

 

After their friends had left that night, Tyler was basically asleep on Josh already, still exhausted and weak from everything they had encountered just days before. It was understandable, considering Tyler had used so much of his power, much more than he had ever trained for.

 

Gently, Josh picked Tyler up and carried the younger into his bedroom, causing Tyler to open his eyes tiredly from the motion.

 

"Just moving you to bed," The red haired boy explained in a soft voice, letting out a soft chuckle when he heard Tyler whine.

 

"Cuddle," Tyler demanded sleepily, making grabby hands towards Josh even though he could barely keep his eyes open.

 

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Josh assured him, stripping himself until he was in his boxers.

 

"Hurry," He whined again, his eyes shutting. Josh smiled to himself, crawling into the bed and pulling the brunette onto his chest.

 

"Goodnight, baby. I love you."

 

Tyler felt his heart race. He still wasn't used to Josh saying that to him. Part of him didn't believe it because Josh was, well, Josh. He was perfect and wonderful and everything Tyler wasn't.

 

"I love you," Tyler whispered quietly, cuddling farther into Josh's chest, pushing the doubt away and letting the sleep take over.

 

Start the song. It's Polarize by twenty one pilots (ERS studio version)

 

When Josh woke up, he was in restraints again. Plain white walls, and a chair that he was strapped to.

 

Everything was plain. He had never seen a room like this, and it was creeping him out. His red eyes studied

 

He tried to move, but was met with voices. He couldn't move his head back to see who was talking to him, but he had a feeling it was mutants.

 

"Stay with us."

 

"Stay here, Josh."

 

"Don't go."

 

"Don't go."

 

"We need you."

 

"Stop!" He screamed. "Stop! Stop it, stop it! Leave me alone!" The red haired boy moved against the restraints, trying to fight them. He couldn't burn them off, they were fireproof. "Please," He begged. He could suddenly feel hands touching him, they were everywhere, touching his bare skin and his arms and his face.

 

"Josh, wake up! Wake up!"

 

Red eyes shot open. "Fuck," He whispered.

 

"Baby," Tyler started, concern visible on his face despite it being so dark. "What happened?"

 

"I thought I was back there..with Magneto." He was breathless, his entire body shaking. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead in seconds. Trying to catch his breath, Josh placed a hand on his chest, just to make sure his heart was still beating.

 

Tyler looked terrified. "Well, you're not, okay? You're safe. You're okay."

 

"You hate that word," Josh laughed through his tears, making Tyler let out a quiet laugh.

 

"I know, but-"

 

"I love you so much," Josh interrupted, letting out a quiet whimper. Pulling him in closer, Tyler kissed the top of his head. "Please don't ever leave me like that again. Please. I can't deal-"

 

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise. Don't worry." The words seemed to put Josh at ease and he rested his head in the crook of Tyler's neck, sighing in relief when the younger boy began tangling his fingers through his curls.

 

"Promise?" Josh repeated.

 

"I promise."

 

____

 

"Ouch, ouch, Mel, that really hurts!" Tyler whined, flinching as the IV was pushed into his vein near his elbow. She giggled, her gap on full display as she did so. Within seconds, the other end of the IV, the bag, was filling up with her blood. Soon enough, it was filling the tube to attached to the needle in Tyler's arm. Mesmerized, he watched as the dark, almost black blood began flowing through the tube and into his body. He could feel it entering his veins, the liquid cold and unfamiliar.

 

Josh studied the process, his own arm out and ready for Melanie to do the same. Once Tyler's IV bag was filled to the brim with the red-black liquid, she began filling Josh's. When it was half filled, she stuck the IV needle into Josh's arm, causing him to wince. It didn't really hurt that bad though, thankfully.

 

"Well, that's it really." Melanie shrugged. "Just wait until the bag is empty and you should be good." She informed them, smiling.

 

"Thanks, Mel." Tyler expresses his gratitude, flashing her his own crooked teeth that Josh had adored so much.

 

Melanie had left a short while later, once she was sure the blood was actually going into their veins. The two boys held hands (with the arm that wasn't being injected with blood) and waited patiently for the bag to empty into them.

 

After a comfortable silence, Josh suddenly realized something, a smile so genuine and so real spreading to his face that it looked fake.

"Ty, you realize what this means, right?"

 

Furrowed eyebrows, Tyler shook his head, confused. "What? What does what mean?"

 

"This," Josh lifted the arm with IV up, causing Tyler to stare at him with confusion. "We can't die anymore, baby. This is forever."

 

The warmth the spread to Tyler's body at the  words was an absolutely wonderful feeling. Suddenly, everything they had been through had been worth it.

 

The intense training. It was so terrible at times. It had led Tyler weak and barely able to think. His entire body would ache as he got up the next morning and had to go to class. Truly, it was awful.

 

He hadn't seen his family in what felt like forever. He really did miss them at times. Sometimes he'd wonder how Jay, Zack, and Maddie were doing without him. Were they safe? Did they ever miss him? Does Jay even remember him? Is his father still coaching basketball? Do they think about him, too? He'd barely talked to his mother after she practically kicked him out, but he suddenly didn't really mind that much. In fact, he was grateful. Without her, he wouldn't have met the love of his life.

 

At 16, Tyler had had way too many near death experiences. Every single battle was a life risk, and Tyler was often targeted for his insane powers. He'd almost been killed at the explosion at the school and then he had actually died when Magneto had managed to get two nails into his back, causing his lung to collapse and make him lose way too much blood. Recovering from that was fucking torture, but he'd do it all again for Josh.

 

 

Their fights were brutal. Tyler absolutely hated being mad at Josh but sometimes he did stupid things and he deserved it. However, Tyler knew Josh never did mean to hurt him. His anger had sometimes gotten the best of him and created terrible outcomes.Another terrible thing that had happened-thinking Josh might've died when they were in that god awful argument. Tyler could've drowned himself with guilt, he couldn't bare thinking that Josh was unsafe and could've possibly died thinking that Tyler hated him.

 

Being backstabbed was another discouraging event Tyler was forced to deal with. He had loved Jenna so much and she still lied to them and betrayed them in unimaginable ways. While Tyler felt bad about her death, he didn't feel as bad as he would've because if she wasn't scheming against them, Tyler might not have briefly died. He hated that he had lost a best friend, but she clearly was never a real friend. Real friends didn't get each other killed.

 

Yet, it was all worth it. Tyler would do it again and again if it meant spending forever with Josh. This was where he was meant to be. Anywhere Josh was, Tyler belonged.

 

"Forever?" Tyler repeated, a smile on his lips.

 

"Forever."


End file.
